Three Words to Destroy Him
by KaeBird13
Summary: Trapped on an island surrounded by an impenetrable wall of storms, the Strawhats are approached by a woman who claims she can break a person's spirit. Her target? Luffy. Will three words really be the thing that breaks the Captain's spirit? Warning: Blood, torture, Romance (LuNa), and OC's.
1. Through the Storm and Into Hell

**So this is my first attempt at a One Piece fanfiction. Just to let you guys know, I don't really care if the characters seem a little OOC. I'm writing this purely for my own enjoyment, and I do try to keep their personalities as close as possible, but writing about characters that aren't your own is hard. If you want them to be completely perfect, go read the manga. WARNING: This is a Luffy torture fic. For some odd reason, I enjoy seeing my favorite characters suffer. You don't need to tell me I'm psycho. Believe me, I already know. ^_^**

* * *

"Your drinks, Nami-swan! Robin-chwan!" An excited Sanji wiggled around with hearts popping out of his eyes as he served the ladies.

"Arigato, Sanji-kun." Nami smiled at the cook and took a sip of the tropical drink he had made her. Robin made an agreeing noise.

"Thanks, Cook-san."

"Aww! Robin-chan and Nami-san are so beautiful!" He clasped his hands together. "My love for both of you knows no bounds! Two angels! Right here on this ship, partaking of my cooking! It is almost too much to bear!"

"Shut up, Love Cook." Zoro opened one eye from where he was sleeping on the deck. "It's too early in the morning for me to listen to your annoying voice."

"What was that, Marimo?" Sanji whirled on him, steam shooting out of his nose. "It's never too early to compliment these lovely ladies!"

Zoro closed his eye again. "What ever you say, Ero-cook. Just as long as you keep your mouth shut while doing it."

"You wanna fight?"

"As if your measly legs could beat my powerful swords." Zoro scoffed. "Dart brow."

In an instant, Sanji had his leg crashing down towards the swordsman's head. The two were exchanging blows in the blink of an eye. Nami did her best to ignore them, but irritation was slowly drawing a knot on her forehead. She snapped as missed slash from Zoro cut their table in two, sending the drinks all over Nami's and Robin's shirts.

"You two... IDIOTS!" She knocked them both on the head. "Now I'm going have to change my shirt. And it was a nice shirt too, I just barely bought it at the island we were at last week. You better hope it doesn't stain, or I'm going to add another fifty thousand belli to your debt!"

"Are you going to take a bath, Nami-chan?" Robin asked politely as she snapped closed her book, which had miraculously survived being splattered by the liquid.

Nami shook her head. "I only got a little bit on my shirt, none of it got on my skin."

"In that case," Robin stood up. "I take my leave." She had taken the full onslaught of the drink, and knew that her skin was going to get uncomfortably sticky if she didn't wash it off soon.

"Ah, Nami-swan is so beautiful even when she's mad." Sanji let out a love filled sigh. Nami sent him one last glare before stomping off to change her clothes.

"Evil woman." Zoro muttered as he stood up and grabbed his swords. He had lost count of the times the navigator had forgiven his debt only to bring it back when she needed to black mail him.

He had barely enough time to bring up his sword as Sanji's foot once again came swinging at him. "What did you say about my lovely Nami-san?" The cook yelled.

"You heard me, Curly!"

Meanwhile, Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy were on the deck of the Sunny, oggling what looked like to be a giant cannon.

"I call it the _Super_ Giant Franky Mangler 5XT!" Franky exclaimed as he jumped on the cannon. He grabbed a lever sticking out of the top and moved it towards the left. The cannon swiveled and turned the direction he was pointing. "See? It even has self rotating device so we don't have to do all the manual labor ourselves."

"Awesome!" Luffy had stars in his eyes and droll hanging out of his mouth. "It's so cool Franky!"

"Of course it is, Strawhat-niichan. This _super_ me made it!" Franky stated proudly. He knew it didn't take much to impress the young captain, but he still felt flattered.

Usopp stroked his chin. "How does it fire?" He asked with interest.

"I'm glad you asked! You would like a demonstration?"

Copper clapped his hands together. "You'll really show us?"

"Of course! Usopp, why don't cha come help me?" Franky said. The two quickly situated it so it was aimed at a nearby rock. "How are the cola levels?" Franky called down to Usopp.

"Rising! It's almost ready!" He called back.

"Is it still on target?"

"Yep!"

"_Super!_ Get ready to fire!" The cyborg pressed the button and the Super Giant Franky Mangler 5XT shot out a compressed beam of blue light. It hit the rock with deadly accuracy and blew it up with such force that the Sunny was propelled backwards in the water. Luffy shone with amazement and Chopper danced around.

"That's pretty nice, actually." Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette. Zoro's and his fight had ended moments before, and he was now leaning against the railing, looking down at the crowd below. "Could be helpful when fighting Marines. And, Luffy, you are way too impressed."

Luffy slurped back in his drool before running to jump all over the cannon. "It's like a laser beam! But so much bigger!" He exclaimed. Zoro gave it a brief look before sitting back down to finish his before lunch nap. Nami came back out wearing a new tanktop. It was light blue and was lined with dark purple lace. This shirt was also new, and if anyone else dared to do it harm, she might just kill them.

"Did your new invention work, Franky?" She asked as she walked down the stairs.

Franky looked offended. "Are you doubting my skills, Navigatin'-neechan?"

"No." Nami sat on the swing and gently rocked back and forth. "But I was just making sure before Luffy broke it."

It was Luffy's turn to look offended. "Oi, Nami! I won't brake it!" He quickly stood up, but his hand was still latched around the joy stick to rotate the cannon. There was a cracking sound and the wood split. Luffy looked at the stick in his hand and back to the machine. "Oops." He gave a nervous chuckle.

Usopp, Chopper, and Franky's mouths dropped open. "Luffy!" Nami just smirked as she watched her captain be chased around by the three.

"Sorry!" Luffy called over his shoulder before he tripped over his shoe and face planted in the grass. Chopper took advantage of this momentary delay and jumped on his back. Usopp and Franky followed suit and dog piled on Luffy. It wouldn't hurt the rubber man, but they had to get their revenge somehow.

The wind shifted and Nami looked sharply at the sky. With a piercing gaze, she studied the clouds. "Guys! Get everything off deck, a storm's coming!"

"Got it!" The doctor, sniper, and shipwright finally got off the captain and ran around picking up junk from the deck. Nami ran back up the stairs and examined the approaching storm intently. It wasn't a cyclone, but it was still going to be a big storm. She wasn't looking forward to standing out in the rain, making sure their ship stayed on course.

"Luffy, get the sails!" She barked out orders. "Sanji, get me my rain coat!"

"Hai, Nami-san!"

Robin stepped outside, she was drying her hair with a towel. "Is there something wrong, Nami-chan?"

"Storm." She muttered. Lighting crackled in the sky and thunder boomed so loudly that Chopper and Usopp screamed and started hugging each other. Rain began pounding on the ship, it was raining bucketfuls, not drops. It was so thick that Nami could hardly see the front of Thousand Sunny through the water. Nami was soaked to the skin, Sanji had taken too long with the rain coat.

She made a distressed noise in the back of her throat. How could she navigate in conditions like this? She could barely see twenty feet in front of her, how was she suppose to keep track of the water? Biting back her concern, she steeled herself for what was to come. It wasn't a question about how. She would do it, her nakama were counting on her. Glancing down at her log post, she yelled more orders. She didn't know how they heard her, but the ship slowly moved back on course.

"Keep us straight!" She yelled to Franky who was manning the helm.

"You got it, Navigatin'-neechan!"

Thunder clapped again and Nami yelped, pressing her hands to her ears and smashing her eyes shut. It was so loud! She cracked open her eyes to see Luffy pointing worriedly to the side, screaming something she could not hear. She looked where she was pointing at just in time to see a huge wave come crashing down on the ship. Instantly, Nami lost her footing as water splashed down. She took a panicked breath in, only to find she was sucking in water instead of air.

Blinding pain shot through her side as the water slammed her against the railing. The ship swayed and Nami was flung over the side. She screamed as she plummeted towards the raging sea below.

"Nami!" An arm looped itself around her waist. Her descent stopped with a jolt, knocking the breath once again out of the navigator.

"Thanks, Luffy!" She coughed as the water she had sucked in earlier exited her lungs.

"No problem." Luffy grinned at her before yanking her back on the ship. Lighting flashed in the sky, followed by a deafening boom. Nami grabbed Luffy's shoulder's for support as the ship lurched dangerously. Luffy steadied her as his eyes scanned the area for his crew. Franky had managed to hold the helm, Usopp was rubbing his bruised head, Zoro was securing the sails, Sanji had just barely came out with Nami's rain coat, Robin was holding onto the side of the ship, and Chopper was... Where was Chopper?

"Chopper!" Luffy stretched his arm out to catch the Zoan user seconds before he hit the water. A wave chose to slam the ship at that exact moment, knocking Luffy off his feet. Both devil fruit users were on a collision course with the sea. Hands grabbed Luffy's wrist.

He looked up to see Nami flash him the same grin. "Honestly, sometimes you're more trouble than you're worth." She joked. But she was nearly folded all the way in half, her arms straining to hold them. She had just managed to catch them. If another wave hit the ship, all three of them were going under.

"Luffy!" Chopper sobbed as the swirling water splashed his hat.

"Don't worry, Chopper! I'm not going to drop you." Luffy promised. He saw the position Nami was in, and knew that he had to hurry. Gently, he began swaying his arm, gaining momentum with each swing. Once he had it going fast enough, he threw Chopper onto the deck.

"Usopp, catch!" Luffy yelled. Usopp had finished grumbling about how much his head hurt, and was now back on his feet when he saw something soaring through the air. And it was coming right... at him. He let out a strangled cry as Chopper smacked into his head.

"Luffy, I'm going to kill you!" Both Chopper and Usopp yelled, large bumps growing out of their skulls.

"Shihihi!" Luffy laughed and began retracting his arm, flinging himself back onto the deck. Nami groaned in relief as Luffy's weight was lifted off her arms. Her captain hovered in the air and then came crashing down. A ginormous wave hit the front of the ship, knocking it completely off course. Luffy's mouth transformed into a small 'o' of surprise as he landed on top of his navigator instead.

"Luffy..." Nami growled.

"Um... sorry?" Luffy laughed sheepishly.

"Just what do you think you're doing to my beloved Nami-swan, you stupid captain?" Sanji looked over at the wrong time. Lighting lit up the features of the exhausted crew. Thunder rumbled.

Zoro glared at the storm before finishing with the sails. If he believed in such stuff, he would have said the storm sounded like two gods battling it out in the heavens.

Nami cursed as she looked at her log post. They were so off course that it wasn't even funny. Darn the Grand Line and its unpredictable weather.

"Storm is scary. Storm is scary." Usopp huddled on the ground with Chopper. The reindeer was furiously nodding his head in agreement. This storm was more frightening and fierce than any cyclone they had been through.

"Franky, turn us hard to port!" Nami demanded. The cyborg spun the wheel and suddenly the sea was calm. The clouds were still dark and it lightly drizzled, but otherwise they were out of the danger. Nami glanced behind her to see the storm still raging.

"The eye of the storm?" She muttered to herself. The storm made a ring around a circle of calmer water, and right in the middle she could see a speck of something. "An island?" She once again asked herself then quickly checked the log post. Strange, they should be nowhere near an island. Nothing about this situation made sense.

"Did we enter the Florian Triangle?" Robin mussed. Nami gripped the railing so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"No! The Florian Triangle is in the east, we got pushed to the west!"

"Is that an island?" Luffy pointed to the speck in the distance. Nami squinted, as they got closer it looked more and more like an island. But there shouldn't be an island. Once again, she cursed the stupid, unpredictable Grand Line.

Usopp pulled down one of his goggles over his eye. "It's an island, all right!" He said. "Wait, there's something else coming towards us... It's a ship! There's a ship coming this way, and it's huge! What do we do, Captain?"

All eyes turned on Luffy. He frowned. "Wait and see if they're friendly. If they attack, we kick their butts."

Zoro and Sanji smiled at the thought of a fight, then they saw what each other were doing and scowled.

"Are you copying me, idiot Marimo?" The cook sneered.

"Why the heck would I copy someone as stupid as you?" Zoro grunted.

"Because you're jealous of my handsomeness and skills with the ladies."

"Lady skills?" Zoro snorted. "You mean your noodle dance? I'm _sure_ that impresses the ladies. It's like you're yelling 'Look over here! See how immature and perverted I am?'"

Sanji turned beet red as the crew burst out laughing. Even Robin had to turn to hide her amusement.

"Even Zoro can be funny when he uses brain!" Luffy gasped as he rolled on the floor, giggling his insides out. This made them laugh even harder and Zoro reddened with embarrassment. Luffy had just basically called him an idiot, and nobody liked being called an idiot by the biggest idiot of them all.

"Ahoy, there!" A voice rang out. The crew stiffened and their laughter died as they turned around to see a large ship looming over them. Usopp looked at the place he had seen the ship coming and the ship itself. It was the same ship, no mistaking it, but from where Usopp had seen it only minutes before, it should have taken the larger ship at least thirty minutes of sail time to reach the Thousand Sunny. Thirty minutes, not five.

Franky couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the ship's condition. It had taken a beating. There were at least thirty holes in the ship's side and the mast had completely snapped in half. One could only wonder at how the ship was managing to stay afloat.

Sanji's eyes turned to hearts as he looked at the figure waving down at them. "Melorine! Melorine!" He cried out and wiggled around. Indeed, a very beautiful lady was smiling down at them, waving her hands back and forth.

"You guys made it through the storm and didn't drown!" She called down. The lady had long blond hair with one lock died a bright blue. Her eyelashes were thick and fanned around her large brown eyes. Perfectly straight white teeth were surrounded by red lips as she smiled. She looked to be about in her early twenties. As she waved, four more people gathered around her. Three of them were guys, and the other one was a girl. The second girl had light purple hair, and while she wasn't as beautiful as the first lady, she was still something to look at. But she had a bored and slightly annoyed expression as she glared down at the Straw Hats with irritation, like some unwanted bug that had joined them for dinner. That didn't stop Sanji from fawning over her as well.

"Who are you people?" Luffy asked bluntly. Sanji immediately jumped at him and thwacked him on the head.

"Moron!" He hissed. "How dare you speak to such beautiful ladies with that tone of voice?"

"Ow!" Luffy clutched his head.

The blond girl just laughed. "I don't mind, really! I like his spunk!"

Sanji sighed. "For a lady to so quickly forgive after being insulted... Is she a goddess?"

"No, you're just an idiot." Zoro rolled his eyes.

"We are the remnants of the Ruby Skull pirates." The blond lady said. "I'm the Captain, my name's Ruby Elton. The man standing besides me is my first mate, Alex Aslow."

The man standing besides her gave them a nod as a way of greeting. He had longish black hair that was spiked at the front. His skin was tanned and he had three piercings in each ear. He looked like he could easily be twenty or thirty, depending on his mood. Zoro quickly noticed the large sword he had strapped to his back. Oh, so he was a swordsman? This could get interesting.

"The short man standing just to his left is Justin Oaken. He's our ships cook, and I might be bragging when I say this, but he's the best in the world!" Ruby pointed at a boy who looked to be about 4' 7'' (around 140 centimeters), he was the height of a child but his face said he was around fifteen to sixteen years old. His hair was dark brown but had flecks of red scattered through his locks. His eyes were a dark forest green. He flashed them a mischievous, but nice grin. He looked like a prankster. Sanji narrowed his eyes at Ruby's words, he personally took that as a challenge. That lovely lady would change her mind once she got a taste of Sanji's cooking.

"This person standing just to my left is William Thorn. He's our navigator." William had dirty blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He also had a scar on his cheek that ran up and touched his right ear.

"Hello." He said in a masculine voice. He was the first one who had addressed the crew besides the captain. Nami eyed him curiously. She wondered just how good of a navigator he was. If she had to take a stab at his age, she would guess nineteen.

"And finally, this is my younger sister, Roxy Elton." Ruby pointed to the other lady. Roxy gave them a bored glare and humphed.

"Excuse me!" Nami said. "You said that you were the remnants of the Ruby Skull pirates. What happened to the rest of your crew?"

Ruby's expression grew dark. "They all died when we came through the storm a month ago."

"A month ago?" Chopper gasped. "You've been here a whole month?"

The Ruby Skull pirates choked back a gasp.

"It... can talk?" Justin said in a strangled voice.

Chopper bristled. "Of course I can! I ate the human human fruit."

"A raccoon with a devil fruit ability, how interesting." Alex finally said.

"I'M A REINDEER!"

"Oh, pardon me." Alex frowned. _This is an interesting crew_. He thought. He scanned each person individually. There was the raven haired boy with the scar under his eye, the orange and the black haired beauties, a green haired swordsman, the curly eyebrow blondy, the reindeer, a man with a long nose, and a blue haired man with massive forearms. Both the green haired swordsman and the curly eyebrow looked strong. If he had to guess, he would say that one of them was the captain.

_I guess it's our turn to introduce ourselves._ Nami thought. She put on a smile. "My name's Nami, I'm this ship's navigator." She saw that this caught William's attention and he studied her the same way she had studied him earlier.

"Robin is the woman standing next to me, she's an archaeologist. Franky is our shipwright, he's also a cyborg, so don't let his arms confuse you."

"Super!" Franky struck his pose. Ruby gave him a slightly confused smile.

"This is Chopper." Nami pointed to the reindeer. "He's the best doctor in the world!" The reindeer blushed and danced happily.

"Your words don't make me happy, moron!" He giggled. _He sure looks happy_. Justin thought.

"Sanji's the man with the curly eyebrows. He's our ship's cook." Nami said.

Sanji gave a bow. "I am at your service, Ruby-chan, Roxy-chan. If there is anything you need, I'll be there in an instant!"

Roxy pulled her lips back into a grimace and turned around. "Don't talk to me. I hate men like you." She walked away.

Ruby winced. "Sorry, Roxy is not in a good mood. Try not to take it personally."

_So the blond is the cook, that must mean that the green haired man is the captain._ Alex decided.

Nami pointed to Usopp. "That's Usopp. He's the sniper. And that is Roronoa Zoro." Nami shifted her finger so it pointed at Zoro. Zoro had one hand resting on his sword and looked at her in annoyance. "He's our swordsman, and is the first mate."

William's eyebrow twitched. _Roronoa Zoro... why does that name sound so familiar?_ Alex's jaw dropped, but he quickly snapped it shut before anyone could see it. Zoro was the first mate, so that meant the captain was...

"And finally, that's Monkey D. Luffy. He's our captain. We're the Straw Hat pirates, by the way." Nami finished with the introductions.

Roxy stopped in her tracks as she heard the captain's name. That was Straw Hat Luffy!

Likewise, Ruby drew in a sharp breath. "You're Straw Hat Luffy? The man worth three hundred million belli?"

"Shihihihi!" Luffy grabbed his hat that was hanging down his back and stuck it on his head. "That's right, I am!"

Ruby put on a bright happy smile. "I can't believe I've finally met you! You are the man who inspired Roxy and I to set out to sea and become pirates. Why don't you come to the island with us? We've made a makeshift base there, it's only temporary though, seeing as we're still trying to find a way through the storm, but at least you can get out of the rain and dry you clothes. What do you say?"

Nami frowned at her words. What did she mean by 'We're still trying to find a way through the storm'?

"Let's go!" Luffy enthusiastically agreed. The crew looked relieved to finally get out of the light drizzle. Everyone was smiling, everyone except for Robin. She was frowning slightly. _Ruby-san said that Luffy was the man who inspired her and her sister, yet she didn't recognize him? The captain's straw hat kind of gives away his identity... interesting. I don't think these pirates are telling us the complete truth._

The measly crew of five had a hard time maneuvering their large ship, so Chopper and Sanji-ever true to his word of helping out the ladies when they asked-went aboard to give them a hand. Robin was the only one to wonder how they had managed to steer it over to the Sunny in the first place. And so quickly too. She kept these thoughts to herself, however. She would inform the rest if it ever turned out to be important.

They reached the island after sailing for over thirty minutes. The two ships docked at a rocky shore and their crews jumped out. The rain was only a slight mist now, but the sky was still cloudy and bleak. As soon as they hit the ground, Roxy was at Luffy's side.

"This way, Luffy-kun." She smiled sweetly and took him by the arm. It was hard to imagine that she was the angry looking woman they had met on the ship earlier. Luffy looked slightly confused, but let her drag him away.

Ruby laughed. "Sorry if my sister seems bipolar. She has wanted to meet Luffy for a long time, as have I. And I'm sorry to say this, but he's her type."

"Stupid captain." Sanji bit on his suit, tears streaming down his eyes. "Doesn't even know how to treat a lady."

"There there, Sanji-kun." Nami sighed and patted the cook on the back. She watch them walk away, something uncomfortable stirring up in her stomach. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like it.

"Don't worry, Nami-swan!" Sanji jumped up and down happily. "You'll always be my favorite!"

"Hai hai." She rolled her eyes.

The Ruby Skull pirates began moving forward, directing the Straw Hats to follow them. "Are you guys hungry?" Justin turned around and began walking backwards. "I was in the process of preparing dinner when we saw your ship come through the storm. Care to join us?"

Usopp and Chopper exchanged a look. "Are you sure you have enough food for our captain?" Usopp asked.

"He eats a _lot_." Chopper nodded.

"He could probably drain out your entire food supply if you're not careful."

"Oh?" Justin's mouth curled up into a grin. "I personally take that as a challenge." Usopp and Chopper just sighed and shook their heads. They weren't entirely sure if Justin had meant that he would make sure Luffy _didn't _eat all of their food, or if he would make enough food for Luffy to _eat__. _Either way, he was going to lose.

The Ruby Skull pirate's temporary shelter turned out to be a medium sized cabin built under a large pine tree. Franky eyed the cabin with appreciation. Who ever had built it had done some super work. He could do better, but it was still nicely constructed.

"Oi, Justin." Roxy appeared in the doorway with a large scowl. "When will the food be done? Luffy-kun is hungry."

Justin slightly raised his eyebrows in her direction and then brushed past her to enter the cabin. "It will be done when it's done. Be patient for once in your life."

"Yeah? Well, patience isn't a virtue in my book. It's an annoyance." Roxy glared daggers at his receding back.

"You're an annoyance."

"Roxy," Ruby placed her hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "Try to be nice while we have guests."

Roxy's scowl grew deeper. "The only one I will be nice to is Luffy-kun. The rest could go die for all I care."

_She makes no effort to hide her favorites_. Zoro thought. His poor captain most likely had no idea that the purple haired pirate was trying to make a move on him. Not that it would work, things like romance completely soared right over Luffy's head.

"Excuse me, Ruby-san." Robin suddenly said. "I was wondering, could you possibly inform us about this place? The storm surrounding the area we are at is very strange, and I do not think it's natural."

"Sorry, we know nothing about the storm as well." Ruby's eyes grew sad and distant for a second. Then they cleared and she flashed Robin a smile. "But I will tell you every thing I know, later. I think that's a discussion better reserved for after dinner. Speaking of dinner, Justin should be close to finishing. He was already almost done when we went out to greet you, and the only thing left to do was reheat what's he's already cooked."

"That sounds lovely." Nami pushed her way inside. She hadn't heard Luffy yet, and was kind of worried. Luffy was very loud, so when you couldn't hear him doing something, that usually meant that there was trouble.

She found her captain in the next room over, sitting on the floor munching on a leg of meat. "Oi, Nami!" He waved her over, his mouth full of food. "You have got to try this meat! It's delicious!"

Nami opened her mouth to reply, but was pushed to the side as Roxy shoved past her. She quickly sat down by Luffy and turned her dark eyes to look at him. "Glad you like it, Luffy-kun." Roxy gushed. "Justin is making more as we speak."

Nami bristled at the woman's rudeness but sat down by Luffy's other side. She wasn't sure why she didn't like this woman, besides the fact that she was meaner than a mother grizzly bear on steroids, but she wanted her to stay the heck away from her captain.

"Could you not do that to Nami?" Luffy frowned at Roxy. "I don't like any of my nakama getting hurt."

Roxy blinked. Nami saw disgust on her face, but it quickly passed. "Sorry, I didn't see her when I was coming in. I won't do it again."

Luffy laughed. "Well as long as you understand, then it's alright."

_Always so quick to forgive._ Nami sighed. She loved and hated that attribute about her captain. More people came filing in the room and Justin brought in the food.

_What about Luffy makes him so appealing to Roxy?_ Nami narrowed her eyes as she watched Roxy swipe another piece of meat to give it to the rubber man. _Sure, he's a little decent to look at, but so are Zoro and Sanji. What about Luffy makes him so special?_ Just then Luffy looked over at Nami and grinned at her. She felt herself blush.

"Why aren't you eating Nami?" Luffy asked. "The food's great!"

"I... er..." Nami stuttered. She wasn't about to tell her captain she was caught up looking at _him_. Sanji mumbled something inaudible and tried a bit of Justin's cooking. He shook his head with a slight smile. It was good, he would have to give the short boy that, but what kind of spices did he use to compliment this roast?

"Are you sick?" Luffy put his hand to her forehead. "You're cheeks are red."

Nami blushed harder and recoiled from Luffy's touch. She grabbed a ham sandwich from a pile. "I'm not sick." She bit into it. "Just tired."

Roxy watched the exchange with bitter jealousy. If she planned on snagging Straw Hat's heart, the navigator needed to go. Luffy was too important to her plan for someone to get in the way. But how could she make the orange haired woman's death look like an accident?

Dinner ended with Justin sprawled out on the floor of the dinning area, his breathing labored. "I'm done." He panted. "You win, Luffy. I can't possibly make enough food to keep you satisfied."

Usopp and Chopper looked at each other. "Just like we predicted." Usopp said.

"Yup." Chopper nodded. "The only one who can make enough food for Luffy is Sanji." Sanji smiled at this, but not nearly as wide as he would have if a woman had given him the compliment.

"I applaud you skills, Sanji." Justin rolled his head to look at the blond haired cook. "You must be one heck of a chef to make food for that monster."

"It's a challenge I enjoy." Sanji lit a cigarette.

"Perhaps we'll let you cook for us tomorrow." Ruby said as she pulled out a deck of cards. "I know it's a weird thing to ask, but will you guys help us hunt? Your captain did kind of deplete our food supply and we're going to have to restock if we're going to survive for the next little while."

"What do you mean for the next little while?" Nami asked in a panic. "We want to leave as soon as we can."

Ruby gave Nami a sad look. "I'm sorry, but that will be impossible."

"What do you mean?" Zoro opened his eyes. He had been attempting to take a nap, but found it more interesting to sit there and listen to the conversations going on around him.

Ruby sighed and put her cards away. William and Alex gave their captain a sympathetic look, and Roxy finally stopped trying to seduce Luffy. Each time she would pull a move, he would turn the other way to say something to Nami, which only added fuel to the fire of hatred Roxy had burning for the Straw Hat's navigator. That woman had to go, one way or another.

Ruby made herself comfortable against the wall. "I used to have about fifty people in my crew. They were all strong, wonderful people. I had hand picked each one myself. We made a name for ourselves back in West Blue before entering the Grand Line. I have a bounty, and so does Alex. Mine's for 65 million belli, and Alex's is for 47 million belli. It's nowhere near as grand as your bounty of 300 million, Luffy-san," Ruby laughed. "but it is still something.

"We were on our way to Fishman island when we got sucked into this storm. Our ship, the _Prancing Tigress,_ was badly damaged and we were taking on water fast when a giant wave smashed into it." Ruby's expression grew dark and her crew looked away. "It was more than we could handle. All of my nakama were swept into the sea and my own husband died protecting me. Alex, Justin, William, Roxy, and I are the only survivors."

The shocked silence was interrupted by a snuffling sound from Franky. "Look away!" He waved his hand in front of his face. "I'm not crying!"

"For the first two weeks," William took up the story, seeing as Ruby was staring at the ground, bitter memories replaying in her mind. "we did our best to push our way back through the storm, but each time we got close to it, our boat was pushed away by the current. Eventually we realized that once you got sucked in by the storm, you were never getting back out. And even if we did manage to find away back into the storm, how were we going to make it through with only five people?"

"So that means... we're stuck here forever?" Usopp gulped.

Alex shrugged. "Basically. Unless you find away to escape."

"I don't want to die in this place." Chopper sniffled, tears leaking out of his small eyes. Zoro said nothing about this news, but inside he was worried. How could he fulfill his promise to Kuina if he was stuck here for the rest of his life?

"Shihihihi!" Luffy fiddled with his hat. "So this is a mystery island?"

Nami hit him on the head. "Idiot! Weren't you paying attention at all?"

Luffy turned to her, his face serious. "I was. Don't worry, Nami, I'll get us all out one way or another. I can't become the Pirate King if I'm stuck here, can I?" The captain's words made all of the Straw Hats relax. They didn't know how Luffy would do it, but he would find a way. He always did. Once their captain made a promise, he always kept it.

In the corner, unnoticed by all, Robin was frowning. Was she the only one who noticed the major flaw in Ruby's story? The female captain had said that they had been stranded on this island for a month, but she had known about Luffy's bounty of 300 million. Luffy and them had found out about his new bounty just before they left Water 7. That had been two weeks ago.

* * *

"He's here. I told you he would come." A grim voice hissed in the darkness.

"Ah, that's right, you did. I never doubted you, Boss." A second voice chuckled.

"Our mole has already been planted and can strike any time we need it to." The first voice said. "Now all we have to do is wait for the perfect time. I think his soul will by pretty tasty."

"You're really looking forward to killing him, aren't you, Boss?" The second voice said with amusement.

There was a shuffling sound. "I have been waiting for this for a long time. It will be fun, crushing his head in between my fingers. I want to hear him beg for mercy, I want to hear him scream. That Monkey D. Luffy."


	2. The Game Has Begun

**Hello everybody! It's me again. I have to admit that I was pleasantly pleased and surprised at the response the first chapter of my story got. So pleased was I that I started writing this new chapter as soon as I got my first follower! Just to let you guys know, to write longer chapters takes me more time. And I've always preferred longer chapters over shorter chapters, so I decided that I will update once a week. Expect a new chapter every Wednesday. This chapter is shorter, being about half the length of the first, but I couldn't wait to update.**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like I'm awesome enough to own One Piece? No, I am not sadly. But maybe some day...**

* * *

Luffy lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. His hands were behind his head, and his hat was sitting next to him. Ever since they had landed on this strange island, something had been bugging him. Well, many things had been bugging him. He couldn't sleep with all the things going through his mind. First there was that Roxy person. Luffy didn't get why she wouldn't leave him alone. Sure he liked meeting new people, but she was always dragging him off to new places, never letting him have some alone time with his nakama. His nakama were his family, and he didn't like being separated from his family for too long. And then there was the way Roxy treated Nami... he didn't like it. For the past three days they had been stuck on the island, there had been a weird tension going on between the two girls.

Nami, her name made Luffy's stomach churn. She was another reason he was finding it hard to fall asleep tonight. He had been thinking of her lately. He normally had his nakama on his mind at all times, but Nami was different. He kept thinking of her smile, and how much he liked to see her smile. And for some odd reason, thinking of her made him happy.

Luffy turned on his side and closed his eyes. After ten more minutes of his mind spinning in circles, he threw off his covers and grabbed his hat. Maybe if he went to take a walk, it would cool his head off and he would finally fall asleep.

Outside it was misting slightly. The rain never stopped, but at least it wasn't as bad as the storm had been. Turning to the ocean, Luffy could see where the calm waters ended and the storm begun. Lighting flickered in the distance, and thunder dimly rumbled. The young captain had become so used to the sound of the thunder that he no longer heard it unless he really listened for it.

The air was chill, but Luffy didn't mind even though he was dressed in black shorts and a red vest. He didn't even have shoes on, not that it would make much of a difference if he put on his sandals anyway. It was too quiet for Luffy's taste, so he started humming to himself as he headed towards the cliffs.

Luffy had explored the island the first day they had arrived, scouring a good portion of it. He had managed to find every nook and cranny of the forest, and the beach was dull and unexciting. But the cliffs were a different matter. They were filled to the brim with caves. Yesterday, Luffy had checked out a new cave where he had accidently run into a monster. It looked like a crocodile, but had fur instead of scales and a long hairless rat-tail. At first, Luffy had tried turning it into his pet, but after it nearly bit its arm off, he gave it a beating. They ate well that night.

Luffy looked up at the sky. The dark clouds were covering up the stars and the moon, making it a fairly dark night. During the day, the clouds blocked up most of the sun's light, giving the island a grim and foreboding air. It was hard not to feel depressed, and Luffy had noticed his crew's spirits grow dim. He did his best to cheer them up simply by acting like the carefree, goofy person he naturally was. But the nasty predicament they were in and the lousy weather was starting to make him feel down. How the Ruby Skull pirates had survived in this place for a month and could still laugh and joke was a mystery to be solved another day.

A bolt of lighting flashed in the sky closer than usual, and thunder roared. Luffy scowled at the storm before returning to his walk. He wasn't feeling tired yet, and his mind refused to shut down, which was strange for the rubber man. He wasn't used to _thinking_. He took another step forward to find there wasn't any ground to place his feet on. He let out a yelp of surprise as momentum caused him to tumble down the rocky hill.

"Ow." Luffy held out his arm as he pulled out a small sharp rock that had embedded itself in his flesh. It bled slightly and Luffy brushed away the scarlet liquid with his thumb. Looking back up at the steep incline he had just crashed down, he was glad he was the one who had taken the fall. If any of his nakama had fallen down the hill, they would have been in worse shape. Sometimes it was very handy to be made of rubber.

"Eh? This wasn't here yesterday." Luffy looked around the small gorge he now found himself in. He frowned slightly, sure that he had explored every inch of the island besides the cliffs. But he defiantly did not see this place. Was it a part of the cliffs? No, he shouldn't be there yet... Luffy felt his head start spinning with all the thinking he was doing.

"Yosh!" He slammed his fist into his hand. "It's a mystery hole." There we go, that explained everything.

The Strawhat's captain gave the hole further inspection. It didn't seem to impressive. It was just a narrow inlet around thirty yards long and five yards in width. To his back was the hill he just rolled down and to his front was a rocky wall twenty yards high. Nothing special to look at, until you looked down.

Right next to Luffy's foot was the bleached skull of a human being. Looking around, Luffy could see the skeleton's rib cage and legs nearby. But that wasn't the only body resting in the gorge. About three dozen or so skeletons littered the ground.

If Nami, Chopper, or Usopp were here, they would have screamed in fear. But Luffy wasn't scared by the remnants of the dead. He was disgusted. What happened to all these bodies, and who would just leave them here to rot?

_Should I bring Robin over here?_ He wondered as he reunited the skull with its body. He knew Robin was interested in stuff about dead people, but would she be interested in the bodies themselves? Well, it wouldn't hurt, and he was planning on bringing his nakama over here anyway. This mystery island was just a bit too mysterious for his tastes. But he was done with thinking, and wanted nothing more than to hand that role over to more capable hands. Such as Nami or Robin.

Luffy stretched his arms up and gripped the edges of the wall. His skin retracted and he flew up, landing on gravel. He briefly wondered if he should return back to his friends immediately, to inform them of his new discovery, or return to his walk. He wasn't tired yet. Shrugging, he continued on. The mystery hole could wait, after all, it wasn't like it was going to disappear.

He had not quite made it to the cliffs when he stopped. Something was not right, he had this sudden urge to sprint back to the cabin where his crew was. A prick of worry stabbed his mind, and he couldn't help but feel that his namaka were in danger. His internal instincts told him that he had a few more hours until breakfast. (That was how Luffy told time. First there was breakfast, then morning snack time, then lunch, then you-better-stay-the-heck-away-from-my-kitchen-or-e lse-I-will-kill-you time, and then dinner. He would have liked to add a midnight snack time in there too, but Sanji locked the door to the fridge.)

Luffy frowned and took a step forward. He still had sometime before he had to return to his nakama. He didn't know why he was feeling the way he did, but he knew he didn't have to worry about his friends. They could take care of themselves. He took a few more steps forward, then stopped. With a deep breath in, he turned around and began running back towards the cabin.

* * *

"Boss, Strawhat Luffy has left."

"I know, I was already starting the preparations."

"You better hurry, I don't know when he will be back. He may seem like he has no caution, but I can tell he cares very much about his friends. He won't like what we're about to do to them."

"Well then, you better go keep watch. We wouldn't want him to interrupt the ceremony"

"That would be bad, we would have to revise our plan."

"If he returns before I'm done, go and distract him. Are all the Strawhats still asleep?"

"Every single one of 'em."

"Good, I would hate to have to fight that green haired swords man or the cook. The ceremony would take longer to complete, and I might kill one of them. The plan wouldn't work with them dead."

"Of course, Boss. I'll keep watch."

"Ah, make sure you don't fail me."

* * *

_"Nami."_

_Nami looked around for the person who called her name. There was no one. _

_"Nami." _

_The navigator stood in a field of silvery-white mist. She couldn't see the ground underneath her feet, only the mist. She held up her hand in front of her face. Her skin looked shimmery and translucent. _

_"Nami, why?" The voice she had been hearing once again spoke. She turned around, trying to find who ever was saying her name. For some reason, her heart felt heavy with desperation. She knew that she had to find that person. She frantically glanced around. Where was he?_

_"Why? I trusted you." The voice sounded close to tears, and that made Nami ache with sorrow. "I trusted you, so why? I thought we were nakama."_

_"We are!" Nami yelled. She began running through the mist. She had to get to that voice._

_"Then why?" The voice sounded small and broken. "I didn't do anything, or at least I think I didn't. You didn't tell me a reason, so it must be my fault somehow. I'm sorry, Nami, for hurting you, even though I don't know what I did wrong. Will you tell me what I did wrong? Maybe I can go back and time and fix it."_

_"You didn't do anything wrong!" Nami cried out. Where was he? "It was all my fault not yours."_

_"Nami..." The voice whispered._

_Nami felt something inside her snap, and she fell to her knees with tears slipping down her cheeks. She watched as the mist underneath her began slowly turning black, starting at her hands and growing until there was not a speck of silver mist left. She shuddered. _

_"Nami, look at me." Nami lifted her head and choked back a sob. Luffy stood in front of her covered in blood._

_"Luffy!" She reached up to touch him, but he flinched away. Blood began seeping down his legs and into the black mist below. She heard chuckling as the mist began swirling around Luffy's feet._

_"I'm sorry, Nami." Tears began to fall from her captain's eyes, washing away some of the blood. Nami saw a deep cut carved in his cheek._

_"No!" Nami screamed. "Luffy, no!"_

_"I'm sorry." He repeated. The mist curled up his legs, and Nami saw red eyes burning as more laughter filled the air. "I'm sorry, Nami, I won't do it again, so please forgive me?" The boy lifted a scarlet covered hand towards her. She tried to grab it, but the mist hissed at her and enveloped his arms. "I'm sorry." He said once more before the mist covered him completely._

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm_ _sorry. _

Nami woke up with a scream. Sweat drenched her shirt, and her breathing came out as gasps. _What the heck was up with that nightmare?_ She thought as she tried to shake away the panic. Luffy was fine, she had seen him just hours ago. He was probably snoring away in the other room. With a nervous laugh, Nami sat up. Or at least _tried_ to. She shifted her arms around, panic building up in her throat once more. They were tied together. She moved her feet. Her ankles were bound as well.

Taking a deep breath in, she tried to calm herself. She must not panic. She rolled over and came face to face with Zoro. The swordsman was tied up as well, but his eyes were closed and his chest rose up and down with peaceful slumber. Wiggling around, Nami saw all of the crew bound and scattered around the room where the girls had slept. They were all asleep.

Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Franky, Chopper... No Luffy. For a moment despair over came Nami as she recalled her nightmare, but she shook it off.

"Zoro!" Nami hissed his name. This got no reaction. Nami wormed over towards him and sunk her teeth into his shoulder. He didn't even flinch.

"Robin?" Nami called out. "Chopper? Sanji! Usopp! Franky! Is anyone awake?"

_Shoot._ Nami pressed her eyes shut. Why were they tied up, and where was Luffy? Nami opened her eyes again. The only people on this island were the Strawhats and the Ruby skulls. She didn't see any of them here. Did something happen to them, were they captured too? No, wait, if they were the only ones on the island, then that must mean the Ruby Skull pirates...

She heard a shuffling noise outside. "Hey, Luffy-san, I didn't know you were out this late." Someone said. Nami's eyes widened. Luffy!

She opened her mouth to yell his name, but a hand crashed down and pressed her head to the floor. The cold hard steel of the blade pressed against her throat.

"Say anything and I will kill you." A voiced growled in her ear.

"I took a walk, I couldn't sleep." Luffy said. Tears prickled Nami's eyes. Dang it, Luffy! Notice something was wrong!

"Would you perhaps like to help me fetch water?" The person talking to Luffy politely said.

"Sorry, but I thought I heard Nami scream. I'm going to go check up on her." Nami felt a rush of victory.

The person laughed. "I haven't heard a single peep come from the cabin. Your friends have all slept soundly so far, and probably will until morning. There's no need."

"Still, I'm just going to go make sure." Nami could hear the frown in Luffy's voice.

"You just want to go look at your navigator sleep." The person accused. "I didn't know you were a pervert."

"No!" Luffy cried out. "I just want to go make sure she's okay! I'm not like Sanji."

_Luffy..._ Nami swallowed against the knife held to her neck. _Please, hurry!_

"Sure you do." The person said in a disbelieving voice. "I know your navigator is beautiful, but you should still respect her rights."

"Move it. I'm going to go check up on my crew."

"Come on, Luffy-san. Your crew's strong, they don't need a babysitter. Tell you what, you come help me fetch water now and then you can check up on them later. This water is for breakfast, you wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"

Luffy was silent. Then he laughed. "You're right, my crew can take care of themselves. Let's go get breakfast, I'm hungry!"

"It's still like three in the morning." The person grumbled. Nami stifled a cry as she heard footsteps move away from the cabin. _No, Luffy! Come back!_

The person on top of her waited for them to move a significant distance away before releasing her hold on the navigator.

"Well, that could have been bad. It's a good thing I stopped you before you alerted your captain." The knife was sheathed.

"You." Nami spat as she glowered at the person.

"Yeah, me." The person agreed. "I have to admit, you did surprise me. I wasn't expecting you to wake up so soon."

"Why?" Nami asked full of anger.

"Sorry, can't tell you that yet. But trust me, you'll figure it out eventually." The figure hidden in shadow began moving around the room. It stopped at each of the crew members and touched them lightly on the forehead. When it removed its hand, the crew member would gasp slightly and their face would contort in pain.

"What are you doing?" Nami half whispered.

"So many questions." The person chuckled. "Don't worry, it will be your turn soon." Soon, all the Strawhats had been touched, except for Nami. Fear began crawling up her spine as the person turned towards her. She open her mouth, but it was dry and she couldn't say anything.

"This will hurt a lot, but when you wake up you won't remember any of this happened. Good night, Nami-san." The person pressed her fingers to Nami's forehead. The girl's eyes rolled back and her lips parted in agony. Then she relaxed. The person chuckled and pulled out the knife to undo the ropes. It was a good thing it had taken precautions before hand, just in case one of the Strawhats woke up. It's mouth lifted into a smile.

"The game has begun, Monkey D. Luffy. The question is, how long will you last?"

* * *

Luffy had managed to separate themselves from that person finally. He didn't know why he wanted Luffy to go get water with him so bad, but it had annoyed Luffy. He only agreed so he would get him off his back. Now he could go check up on his friends, though that person was probably right, and Luffy was overreacting. The dreary weather was effecting his ability to think properly.

It couldn't hurt, though, to go prove his instincts wrong.

Walking into the cabin, Luffy peaked into the boy's room. Zoro, Usopp, Franky, and Chopper were all there, sleeping soundly and peacefully. Good. Then he went to the girl's room. Nami and Robin were both asleep on different mattresses. Nami was sleeping on her side, facing towards the door. Luffy frowned as he saw sweat beaded on her skin. He quickly crossed the room and held the back of his hand up to her face. Her skin felt warm. A blush reddened Luffy's cheeks as he remembered that person's words earlier.

Luffy did his best to be quiet as he hurried out of the room, the blush still lingering on his face. _See?_ He told himself. _They're all fine._

What a fool he was for thinking that his friends might have been in danger.

* * *

**I hoped you all liked the new chapter of Three Words to Destroy Him. Don't worry, the action will be coming soon. I'm also going to add, so people don't get confused, that when I referred to the person as 'it', it was only so I could allude my poor readers of the character's gender. I do not mean that they're actually an it. So far it seems like only two people are out to get Luffy. Any ideas on who they are? Please review! I love reviews. Speaking of reviews, I will use the space down here to respond to any reviews I get.**

**To Llaelien: Thanks ^-^, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

**To Guest: I always like it when people follow me. Except for stalkers. I try to keep my stories interesting. I do like to read some of the over used plot lines, but when I write, I do my best to keep my ideas fresh and original. But I am heavily influenced by some of my favorite authors in my writing. And greetings to you to!**

**To Ll: Of course Nami won't let anybody steal Luffy away from her. This is a LuNa story after all.**

**To Soukio: Here's your more. Nice use of the caps lock. ;)**

**To Natylol: Thanks for your review. I always like it when I get feedback on my writing.**

**To giby-chan: I was trying to add as much LuNa into the last chapter with out putting to much LuNa in it, if that makes sense. While I do love a good romance, I've always preferred it to come slow and natural-like. Tell me what you think of the LuNa I added into this chapter.**


	3. The Curse of the Beopard!

**Well, it's Wednesday, so here's the next chapter of my story. Do you know what I've decided this story really needs? A cover image! But I don't know what kind of picture I should use. I needs ideas, people!**

**Anyway, enjoy the story. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece, I would be rich. If I was rich, I would have a life-size plush doll of Luffy. But I am neither rich, nor do I own a Luffy plushy. It's rather depressing, actually.  
**

* * *

Luffy's eyes snapped open as he smelled the glorious smell of food cooking. Sanji was cooking breakfast today, he could tell by how the food smelled. He didn't know how to break it to Ruby, but Luffy was pretty darn sure that _he_ had the world's best chef in his crew. Yes, Justin was good, (He did prepare a ton of meat after all.) but Sanji was better. Luffy had handpicked him to be in his crew, and he only accepted the best.

"Oi, Luffy."

Luffy sat up and turned to Zoro. The green haired swordsman was leaning against the wall, peering at Luffy with one eye. "What?" Luffy asked.

"When did you get that wound on your arm?" Zoro nodded to the small wound that had scabbed over during the time Luffy was asleep.

"Oh, this?" Luffy stretched his skin so that he could take a better look at it. "I couldn't sleep last night so I went to go take a walk and accidentally fell down a hill. I landed on a really sharp rock and it stabbed me."

Zoro frowned. Luffy went on a walk last night? But he hadn't noticed... Sure he slept a lot, but he was actually a light sleeper. He would have noticed if someone left their room last night. Maybe he was just really tired?

"Hey, Luffy-kun." Roxy appeared in the doorway to the boy's bedroom. "Breakfast is ready. Would you like to come eat?"

Luffy jumped up. "Foooood!" His loud cry woke up Usopp and Chopper.

"Doctorine? Give me five more minutes." Chopper's head lifted up and promptly fell back down.

"You're so noisy, Luffy." Usopp grumbled. "Don't be so noisy in the morning, some people are still trying to sleep!"

"It's almost ten." Roxy snarled at him. "Lazy fool."

"Sorry, sorry." Luffy apologized with a laugh. He grabbed his hand and put it on, pulling the brim down so that it covered his face. Then he frowned. He didn't like it when Roxy insulted his friends. He could understand it when Zoro and Sanji fought, but Roxy didn't know them, she wasn't a part of their crew. She was an outsider. And outsider that wouldn't leave him alone.

"Come on, Luffy-kun." Roxy grabbed his arm and escorted him out. "Let's go eat."

"...Sure." He said distractedly. They went into the dinning room and Luffy scanned the area for Nami. He smiled once he saw her and detached himself from Roxy.

Nami stifled a yawn with her hand as Sanji brought her breakfast. For some reason, she woke up that morning with a pounding headache, and was feeling even more tired than before she fell asleep.

"Mademoiselle," Sanji bowed as he set the plate out in front of her. "your food."

"Thanks, Sanji-kun." Nami yawned.

"Have you seen Robin-chan this fine morning?" Sanji glanced around.

"She's still in the girl's room." Nami picked up her fork. "She was still really tired when she woke up and decided to go back to bed."

Sanji frowned. "Strange, I'm exhausted too, even though I got a fair amount of sleep last night."

"Same here! And I have a headache. Is Chopper awake yet?"

"Sorry, Nami-san. I've been in here all morning cooking breakfast. But you can ask our crappy captain. He's coming this way." Sanji sent a glare at Luffy who was approaching them with a big grin on his face. "What does Roxy-chan see in him? Can't she see that I'm more manly than him?" He said the last part under his breath, tears shinning in the corner of his eyes.

Nami just sighed. She preferred Luffy over Sanji too, but she wasn't going to ever tell the cook that. It might just break his heart.

"Nami!" Luffy waved and sat down by her. He was followed closely by Roxy who was glaring daggers at the orange haired navigator.

"Morning, Luffy." Nami once again resisted the urge to yawn. Why was she so tired?

"Hey, Nami?" Luffy lowered his voice and his gaze turned serious. Nami felt a blush crawl up her cheeks as she looked into his eyes. "Did you have a nightmare last night? I swear I heard you scream."

Nami blinked and then slowly shook her head. "I don't think so... If I did I can't remember it."

"Okay, good." Luffy grinned. "I must have imagined it then. Sanji! Food!"

"Get your own darn food." Sanji yelled back from the other side of the room. He was flirting with Ruby who was eating with William and Justin. Alex was nowhere in sight, just like most of the Strawhat crew.

"So Luffy-kun," Roxy slyly leaned over towards Luffy. Her low-cut tank top shifted, revealing quite a bit of her ample chest. "I was thinking we could go explore the caves today, what do you say? Do you want to?"

"I want to, Roxy-chan! Pick me!" Sanji had hearts popping out of his eyes. Roxy scowled at him.

"Get lost, you sorry excuse for a cook." She spat.

"Could you not insult my nakama?" Luffy asked, rather irritated. Without waiting for a reply, he stretched his arms and grabbed three pieces of meat. Sanji didn't bother yelling at him for using a rude tone when talking to a woman. While Roxy was beautiful, she was rude. Well, rude was a polite way of putting it. She was down right mean. But it was his policy to adore any and every pretty woman who walked on the face of the earth, even though he didn't particularly like Roxy-chan.

"Is Chopper awake, Luffy?" Nami asked, catching her captain's attention before Roxy could. "I need some medicine for a headache I woke up with."

"He's still asleep, along with Usopp and Franky. Zoro was awake when I woke up, but I think he fell back asleep." Luffy said in between his fourth piece of meat.

"I'm awake." Zoro stepped into the room. He yawned, not bothering to cover it up like Nami did. "But the others are all really tired, as am I."

Luffy picked his nose. "Am I the only one who's not tired?"

"Seems like it, Captain." Zoro grabbed his food then went to sit down.

"How long did you sleep for?" Ruby couldn't help butting into their conversation.

"Only for a couple of hours." Luffy said. "I didn't fall asleep until really late."

"So we got more sleep than you, but we are more tired than you are. Argh! This doesn't make any sense!" Nami laid her head down. Her head was _killing_ her right now.

"Hey, do you hear something?" Justin cocked his head.

"I don't hear anything, what do you mean?" His captain gave him a weird look.

Justin held up his hand. "Just... listen." Everyone in the room fell silent, trying to hear what the 16-year-old boy was hearing. (They had found out that he was 16 years old. Alex was 31, William was 20, Ruby was 25, and Roxy was 18.)

"The rain." William's eyes widened. They could hear rain pelting the roof of the cabin, no longer just a constant mist. The door banged open and Alex stepped inside, his clothes and hair dripping wet.

"It's raining pretty hard out there." The first mate of the Ruby Skull pirates informed the silent group, yanking off his shirt to wring it out.

"We could tell." Sanji said dryly.

Ruby tapped her chin. "This is the first time it's rain this hard on the island." She thought out loud. "I wonder what's happening?"

Suddenly, there was a crash from the boy's room and Usopp and Chopper yelped while Franky cursed. Franky came tripping out of the door. He swore and ran to the door.

"Franky! Where are you going?" Luffy called out.

"I've got to check up on Sunny!" Franky called over his shoulder as he pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes. Then he opened the door. A gust of wind poured through the doorway, blowing out all the candles they had lit in the dinning area. Lighting flashed in the sky, illuminating the cabin. Nobody noticed the figure slipping small white pills into the drinks Sanji had prepared for his crew. You could see blinding white teeth bared in a grin before it once again went dark.

_Today seems like a perfect day to begin the fun._ The person slipped back to its spot before anyone noticed. _How long will you last in the games, Luffy? How long will your precious crew_ last?

William fumbled with the matches, but managed to light one of the candles. It was passed around and soon all the candles were once again lit.

"Luffy?" Chopper and Usopp crawled out of the boy's room.

Robin stepped in as well. "Nami-chan," She said as she sat down. "I just look out the window. It seems that part of the storm had detached itself from the main body and is now hovering over the island."

"That's unusual." Nami stood up to go take a look for herself.

Roxy grabbed Luffy's arm and turned him so that he was looking down into her pouting face. Her arms moved ever so slightly so that they pressed her breasts up against his skin. "I'm sorry Luffy-kun." She pushed out her bottom lip, and lowered her eyelashes seductively. "With this storm out, we won't be able to go exploring today."

"Ah, that's okay." Luffy frowned uncomfortably and tried moving his arm away. Sanji looked over and had to fight an incoming nose bleed.

"Stupid captain." He muttered and adverted his eyes. Zoro just snorted. Sex appeal wasn't going to work on Luffy, he was too dense to get something like that. He had never seen Luffy pay special attention to any woman before, except maybe for Nami.

Sanji grabbed the tray of drinks he had made especially for his crew. "Here you go, Robin-chwan! I made it just for you!" He handed her the drink as he danced around.

"Thank you." She graciously accepted it.

"You're welcome, my beautiful angel!" Sanji twirled around, but made care not to spill the drinks. Then he turned to the swordsman. "Oi." He growled. "Your drink."

"Like I want it." Zoro grunted. "You could have poisoned it for all I know."

"As if I would poison your drink, stupid marimo! If you die it will be because the air you breathed in got lost trying to find your lungs!" Sanji set down the drink in front of Zoro with a bang.

_No, the cook wouldn't poison the drinks._ Someone thought with a slight smile. _But another person might._ It watched as all the members of the Strawhat crew took sips of their drinks, even Franky and Nami, both who had come back into the dinning room with worried expressions. Franky had informed them that the Sunny was perfectly fine, but he was more worried about the Ruby Skull pirates ship, the Tigress. It had taken a severe beating in the storm, and the shipwright said it was in danger of sinking. Ruby looked sad, but told him to leave it alone. It wasn't like they were getting off this island anytime soon, and the ship had lived a long life. There was no point of going out to fix it and risk having someone else hurt in the storm. After breakfast, Chopper went and got his medical bag and gave a few pills to the navigator who was still suffering from her headache.

With nothing to do except sit and wait for the storm to end, Luffy quickly got restless. He longed to do some more exploring of the cliffs, but it was raining too hard. He supposed he could still go, the rain didn't affect him much, but he wanted to explore with his nakama. And he knew that none of them wanted to go out in this weather. Roxy might go with him, seeing as she always did what Luffy asked of her. But Luffy really didn't want to go on an adventure with Roxy. She creeped him out, to put it plainly.

Just when he thought he was going to die of boredom, he heard an excited yell from Usopp.

"Luffy! It's stopped raining!"

"Yes!" Luffy jumped up to his feet and was out the door in an instant. "Time to go exploring!"

"Do we follow him?" Nami sighed as she uncrossed her legs.

Zoro stood up and yawned. Grabbing his three swords, he headed out of the cabin. "He's our captain. We follow him wherever he goes, no matter what."

"Wise words." Ruby smiled and stood up as well. "I think we shall join you for this little adventure. Are you coming William, Alex? Wait, where's Justin?"

Alex pointed towards the door with his thumb. "He already left."

"Luffy-kun!" Roxy tugged on her shoes. "Wait for me, I want to go with you!" She tripped over Nami in her hast to follow the Strawhat captain. The two exchanged a glare of mutual loathing.

_Infuriating woman._ They both thought.

Luffy's face appeared in the doorway. "That's right, Robin! Last night I found a couple of skeletons and I thought you might want to see them."

Chopper's face went pale. "Ske... Skeletons!"

Luffy laughed. "Yeah! They were pretty cool, and there were a lot of them."

"Interesting." Robin pulled on her jacket. "Were they human bones?"

Luffy nodded. "So do you want to see them?"

"Lead the way captain." Robin followed him outside. "This might just prove that there once was a civilization living on this island. I wondered what happened to all the inhabitants? What causes did they die from?"

Franky shivered. "Probably depression."

Robin nodded thoughfully. "I suppose that's possible. This island does have a slight depressing air, doesn't it?"

"Oi oi, don't tell me you're just noticing that now."

"Robin-chan is so intelligent." Sanji said in awe as he packed a lunch for all of them.

_Three hours._ The person thought as they headed out the door. _In three hours, your world will become Hell, Strawhat._

* * *

"YAHOO! WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVEN- what's that on your necklace Justin?" Luffy turned his head sideways as he examined the charm hanging off of the leather necklace strung around Justin's neck. Nami sighed but couldn't repress a smile at how easily her captain got distracted.

"This?" Justin lifted the necklace with his pointer finger. He fingered the arrowhead, it was made out of black stone and it gleamed in the soft light. "I made it when I was five, and thought it would look cool on a necklace. I've worn it everyday since, I don't know, I guess I've just gotten kinda attached to it." He gave Luffy a big goofy grin. "I would even say that it's my treasure."

Luffy put a hand up to his hat and gave Justin a goofier grin. "I see."

Justin gave him a sideways look. "Why did you want to know?"

Luffy just shrugged. "I thought it looked familiar."

"Luffy-kun!" Roxy took the opportunity to jump at Luffy and loop her arm through his. "Lets go explore the cliffs! Will you catch me a monster, like you did last time?"

Luffy looked uncomfortable and tried his best to shrug off the girl. "Um... maybe." His voice was annoyed.

"Oi, Luffy!" Zoro called from the back of the group. "If you don't like a woman's advance, just straight out tell them!" As soon as he was finished speaking, he whipped out his sword to block the cook's kick.

"Stupid marimo!" Sanji hissed as a fight erupted between the two. "How dare you say something rude about the beautiful Roxy-chan!"

Ruby winced at this, but did nothing to back up her younger sister. They were related, but even Ruby would agree that Roxy was a rude brat who needed to learn some manners. Besides, she was bothering Luffy. And poor Luffy was still innocent and had no idea how to handle flirting.

Something caught Luffy's eye and he jerked out of Roxy's grip, letting out a cry of excitement as he bounded away. Nami watched him hunch over and pick something off the ground. She leaned slightly to get a better view, but could not see what it was.

"Nami!" Luffy turned around and waved to her. Nami blushed at his happy smile. He was just so cute! Her insides froze and she twitched her head with a confused smile. Did she just really think... what she thought she thought? Did she really consider Luffy to be cute?

"Wh, what?" She couldn't stop the tremble in her voice. Ever since they came to this island, no, ever since the incident in Arlong Park where he had finally ended her suffering, she held a strange affection towards her captain. It was like nakamaship, but more than that. It left her rather befuddled.

"I found a shell!" He ran over to her and presented her with a creamy pink sea shell. It was small, but beautiful with a dark rose-pink in the center that swirled out to a lighter pink at the edges. Flakes of gold dotted the surface like stars.

"It's gorgeous." She touched the surface lightly with her fingers.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy grinned. "It's for you. Do you want to turn it into a necklace like Justin's?"

Nami smiled at her captain. Okay, she defiantly thought he was cute. "Sure, why not? Usopp, do you think you can do that?"

The sniper picked up the shell from Luffy's hand. "Sure. I think I can drill a hole here. What do want as a cord?"

"Anything's fine." Nami waved her hand in the air. Then she saw the look of extreme jealousy Roxy was giving her. She smirked at the purple haired girl. Turning her attention back to Luffy, Nami slipped her arm around his, like Roxy was doing moments before.

"Would you be so kind as to escort me to the cliffs?" She asked Luffy sweetly.

Luffy pumped his fist in the air. He didn't like it when Roxy hung onto him like that, but when Nami did it, he didn't mind at all. "Let's go explore!"

The cigarette fell from Sanji's mouth. "Na, Nami-swan?" He asked in a small hesitant voice. He had just finished his fight with the idiot swordsman, only to see his precious Nami-san linking arms with _Luffy_. He fell to his knees, tears sprouting out of his eyes.

"Why?" Sanji banged his fist on the ground. "Why does Luffy get all the women?"

Zoro snorted. "Cry me a river."

"I will!" Sanji sobbed. "Then I will drown you in it!"

The two were so busy with their brawl that they didn't notice the group had left them and were now nowhere in sight.

"That's strange." Luffy scanned the area. "I can't see the hole anywhere! I swear it was around here."

Chopper scratched his head. "Maybe you've got the area wrong. While your sense of direction is not nearly as bad as Zoro's, Luffy, it's still pretty bad."

"Or maybe it was a hallucination caused by staying up too late." Robin said thoughtfully.

"I saw it!" Luffy held out his arm. "A sharp rock stabbed me when I fell into the hole."

Robin glanced at the wound he was showing her. Because he was naturally a fast healer, it was no more than a slight white line. By tomorrow, the wound would be gone, with no sign that he had gotten it in the first place.

"We can look for it tomorrow." William said. "For now, let's go to the cliffs. I have to admit, I am looking forward to checking them out. You see, I'm hoping to make a map of this island. I've already got most of it charted out, and I only need to draw the cliffs and then my map will be done."

"Oh?" Nami looked interested in this. "Will you show it to me when we get back?"

"If you want to see it, be my guest." William said.

"Darn slut." Roxy muttered quietly, but loud enough that the orange haired beauty in front of her could hear it. Nami sent her a smug look over her shoulder and pressed her body closer to Luffy.

'To bad, he's mine.' She mouthed at Roxy. Roxy's eyes went wild with loathing and it took all of her will power not to take her knife and stab that darned woman. No matter how much she wanted to, she knew Luffy would never forgive her, and would hate her. He had already made it clear that he didn't like his friends getting hurt.

"Wait a moment." Alex spoke up. "Where are Zoro-san and Sanji-san?"

The Stawhats glanced around for a moment before shrugging. "They'll be fine." Chopper said.

"The only thing we have to worry about is Zoro getting them lost." Usopp shook his head sadly.

"Sanji bro is with him, so I think they'll find their way." Franky said without much conviction.

Usopp just sighed. "Maybe, but Zoro is Zoro. He gets lost when traveling in a straight line."

William frowned at this. "His sense of direction can't really be that bad."

The entire Strawhat crew gave him a look that told him that, yes, it was really that bad.

Somewhere else, the green haired swordsman was grumbling as he headed in the direction of the cliffs. Suddenly he stopped and sneezed. With a suspicious glance at the sky, he briefly wondered if someone was talking about how awesome his sword skills were.

"Oi, Zoro!" Sanji yelled. "You're going the wrong way!"

Zoro swore and trudged back towards the blond cook.

The group of pirates had now made it to the cliffs, and were standing at the edge looking down at the churning water over three hundred feet below. If anyone fell off, the collision with the water would feel like concrete. It didn't matter if you were a devil fruit user or not, death would await any that fell down. The danger smelled like one thing to Luffy: An adventure.

"Which cave are we going to explore today?" He bounced up and down on his feet. The motion made Nami sigh and she released her hold on him. It was nice while it lasted, but Nami doubted that she would be able to hold Luffy like that again. She could still remember his warmth, and her body instantly craved it as soon as it was gone.

Robin chuckled with a knowing light in her eyes. It was so painfully obvious that her captain and the navigator felt something more for each other. It amused her to watch them try to come to terms with their feelings. Luffy sent a quick glance at Nami, looking sorry that she had let go, it was so quick that Robin was the only one who saw him do it. Yes, very amusing indeed.

"I think we explored the cave with the stalagmites at the entrance before," Justin pointed to a cave to his right. "how about we try the one next to it?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Ruby nodded. "If we try to in order, it might help us remember which caves we have and which caves we haven't explored."

_Two more hours._ The person thought as they followed the group down the narrow path carved in the side of the cliff.

"Just a sec." Franky said just before he walked into the cave. "Zoro and Sanji need some way to know where we went." Within a moment, Franky had constructed a wooden sign, with the words 'ZORO BRO, SANJI BRO, WE ARE IN THIS CAVE!' painted in black.

"There." He nodded at his work with satisfaction. "That way not even Zoro can get lost."

"That was awesome, Franky!" Chopper said with stars in his eyes. "You made it so fast!"

The person shivered with excitement. It couldn't wait two hours, it wanted to have its fun now! It opened its mouth to say something, but bit the words back down. No, it would be patient, but only for another hour.

"Which way do you want to go, Luffy-kun?" Roxy stepped in close, but didn't try to grab him. "Right or left?"

"Left!" Luffy said immediately.

"Why do you want to go left, Luffy?" Robin asked.

Luffy laughed. "Because they say that people who follow the law go right. We're pirates, so we go left!"

Luffy logic. You just had to love it.

A low rumbling growl echoed in the cave, causing Nami, Chopper, and Usopp to pale with fear. The darkness of the cave pressed in on them, making them shudder. A soft, chill breeze tickled their skin, and a low moaning noise could be heard from the depths of the cave.

Usopp backed up. "Oh no! I'm having an attack from my I-absolutely-can-not-enter-this-cave-disease. It's fatal if not taken care of! I know, I'll go look for Sanji and Zoro."

Luffy stretched his arm and grabbed the back of Usopp's shirt before he could bolt out of the cave. "Come on, Usopp, let's go explore!"

"NOOOOO!" Usopp's scream could still be heard as Luffy tore off into the cave.

"Hey, wait for us!" Justin took off after them.

"Luffy-kun, please wait for me!"

Robin shrugged and turned to the rest of the group with a slight smile. "I suppose we better follow them."

Ruby rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Why are they so troublesome?" She asked, but set out after Luffy, Usopp, Justin, and Roxy.

"Aw shoot." Franky cursed. "They forgot to take a torch!"

"Those idiots." Nami bit her lip.

"Luuuuffffy!" Usopp sniffled as he held onto the back of Luffy's shirt. "Why the heck did you forget to bring a torch?"

"Sorry, sorry." Luffy laughed. "Wow, it's dark in here!"

"No kidding!" Usopp yelled. He would have hit him on the head if he weren't so afraid of letting go of his shirt. The same growl they heard earlier sounded again. And it was close.

"Eeep!" Usopp squeaked and turned Luffy towards the sound of the growl.

"Hey, Usopp." Luffy asked. "Do you think it might be a cool monster?"

"I hope it's not!" Usopp said. He really didn't want to meet a monster, especially one that would be classified as 'cool' by Luffy. Heavy footsteps walked near them, making Usopp cringe.

"Oh! There's defiantly something else in here!" You could not mistake the excitement in Luffy's voice. "What is it? A bear? I hope it's a bear, bear meat is delicious!"

_Don't be a bear. Don't be a bear._ Usopp repeated in his mind. _Be a nice, cute, little kitty._ Something shifted near him, and pale white orbs opened right in front of Usopp's face.

"Luffy-kun? Where are you?" Roxy said.

"We're over here?" Luffy called out.

"Where? It's too dark, I can't see you!"

"Wait a moment, I think I have an extra torch in my bag." Justin said. There was some muffled sounds, and then a match was struck against rock. Usopp blinked as the light from the torch revealed a giant bear with the head of a leopard was face to face with him.

"Big, big kitty." Usopp muttered. The leopard-bear thingy snarled and roared in his face. Spit splattered on his skin, and Usopp let out a high girlish scream.

"It sounds like Usopp met the monster of this cave." Robin mussed as she heard the roar followed by Usopp's scream. "I hope Luffy got to him in time, and he wasn't ripped to shreds."

"Your imagination is dark, Robin sis." Franky said before sprinting towards the sound of the scream. When they got to the scene, they found Luffy sitting on the corpse of an animal. Usopp was crying at the animal's feet, Justin was poking the body to see how tender the meat was, and Roxy was ogling Luffy with admiration. Robin and Franky relaxed, there was no need for them to help. The fight had already been won.

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy perked up as soon as he saw here. "Look, we're having beopard tonight!"

"Beopard?" Nami raised an eyebrow. From her angle, she couldn't see the leopard head and only saw the feet of a humongous bear.

"No, we decided it was Lear!" Usopp stopped crying.

Luffy frowned. "Why Lear? Beopard is more fun to say."

"Lear is easier to say." Usopp said like that finished the argument.

"I want it be a beopard." Luffy pouted.

"Why beopard?" Nami growled out of frustration. "Isn't it a bear?"

Luffy shifted so that Nami could see the leopard head of the creature. "Nope! It's a mystery creature."

Justin crouched down by the corpse and lifted a leg. "Hmm. The lear is muscular, so there will be a lot of meat. But it could be really stringy and tough." He put a hand to his chin in thought. "But it could also be really juicy and tender. I wonder what it will taste like?"

"Meat is meat." Luffy laughed. "So it will taste yummy! And it's a beopard."

"I wish I could get Sanji-san's opinion on the matter." Justin sighed. He knew that Sanji was the more experience and better cook between the two of them. Ever since the Strawhat's had been stranded on the island with them, Justin had been in the kitchen with Sanji, watching him cook. He found the elegant and fast way the elder cook prepared his food to be simply fascinating.

"Huh? What did you want with me?" Sanji and Zoro walked up behind Chopper and William.

"Oh good." Chopper sighed. "I was worried that Zoro was going to get you guys lost."

"Chopper..." Zoro growled dangerously. The reindeer slowly backed away then hid behind Robin.

Ruby joined Justin up by the lear, or beopard, whatever the heck you wanted to call it. "How are we going to take it out of here? It looks heavy."

"Awww, are we leaving already?" Luffy's face fell. "But we haven't finished exploring!"

"We're at the end of this tunnel." Nami said. "Unless you want to go back and take the right turn instead."

"Lets do it!" Luffy slid down the monster whatchamacallit.

"What happened to 'pirates never take the right?'" Usopp mumbled. He had one too many scares today, and just wanted to head back to the cabin.

"Don't make fun of Luffy-kun, coward." Roxy gave him a death glare.

"I'm not making fun of your precious _Luffy-kun_." Usopp glared right back at her. "He's my captain, I know him better than you, and I know what's considered making fun of him and what's joking around with him."

Ruby had nothing to say to that.

The person closed its eyes. _A half an hour has gone by since I said I would wait an hour. Do I?_ It looked towards its servant, asking with its eyes whether they should start the plan earlier than they originally decided. The servant looked around the room, and then nodded. There was no point in waiting. The boss smiled slightly. _Finally, after days of waiting. I finally get to break his soul._

"Hey, Luffy-san." It spoke up. "Do you want to play a game?"

Luffy looked at the boss with wide eyes. "What kind of game?"

The person grinned and reached into its pocket and pulled out a small syringe full of clear liquid. "A game of life or death."

Before Luffy could blink, the person had jumped on him and shoved a needle through the the side of his neck. His strength drained from his limbs as the person pushed down and emptied the container into his body. He turned his eye full of disbelief on her as his crew screamed in outrage.

Luffy managed to push a name through his dried lips before he collapsed.

"Ru...Ruby?"

* * *

**Mmm, yumm. Cliff hangers, you got to love them. XD**

**Now, time to respond to reviews!**

**To giby-chan: I hope the LuNa in this chapter pleases you. I had fun writing it.**

**To Natylol: Well, you just found out one of the mystery people. Be honest, it wasn't that much of a surprise. As for what Ruby ejected into the crew, well, you'll find out soon enough.**

**To clea everlasting: Here's your next chapter, hope you enjoy.**

**To Guester: Sorry, I can't tell you what the three words are, that would ruin all the fun! But I'll give you a hint, I got the idea for this story from the 6th movie.**

**To Pocky: (Both of your reviews) I also like LuNa. To me, Luffy's and Nami's bond is strong, and I can see a possible romance between them someday. And also, DON'T DIE! What would I do if I killed one of my readers with cuteness?**


	4. The Game Master is a Creep

**Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not Wednesday. My family went on a vacation and I didn't get back until yesterday, so please forgive the lateness of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own one piece.. of cake. But I do not own even One Piece of the anime. **

* * *

Zoro was the first one to react. As soon as Luffy's eyes rolled back into his head, he had his katana pressed up against Ruby's throat. Ruby bared her teeth at him in a twisted smile and her eyes flickered towards Luffy, whose body was being held up by Ruby's arm. Zoro allowed himself to briefly glance at his captain. Ruby was holding a small silver dagger in between her fingers, and the tip of the blade was pressed into the hollow of his neck. A drop of blood slithered down from the point. Her message to Zoro was clear. _You make a move, and I will end him._

Zoro narrowed his eyes but made no move to put his sword down. _You do anything to Luffy, and I will kill you._

Ruby chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, Roronoa Zoro-san." She said sweetly. "Your captain will wake up very shortly."

"What did you do to him?" Zoro snarled, his voice seething with anger.

"Nee-san!" Roxy took a wobbly step forward. From the disbelieving look in her eyes, you could tell that she was not previously informed of her captain's actions. "Why are you...?"

Ruby sent her an annoyed glare. "Be quiet Roxy. I don't want to hear you say anything about your 'dear Luffy-kun'."

"Nee-san." Roxy whispered and fell to her knees. Usopp put his hand on her shoulder, he may not like the girl but the pain of betrayal was not something someone should endure alone. He glared at the captain of the Roxy Skull pirates as the rest of her crew moved behind her. From the looks of things, Roxy was the only one out of the loop.

His grip on Kabuto tightened. Nami moved up with him, her Clima-Tact ready. Sanj took a deep breath of his cigarette before taking it out to hold it between his fingers. He looked angry enough to break his oath of never kicking a lady. Robin had her arms crossed over his chest, and Franky had gotten his arm cannon ready. Chopper was now in his human form.

"I have never seen such a loyal crew before." Ruby looked at them with amusement. "All of you ready to attack at the sight of your captain injured. And here I was hoping that the shock of the people you befriended betraying you would stun you all into inaction. Clearly," She looked at Roxy with mock pity. "that only worked on my sorry excuse for a younger sister."

Usopp felt Roxy shudder under his hand.

Just then, Luffy took a shaky breath in and his eyes cracked open. Ruby took one last look at him before flinging the rubber man at Zoro. Zoro lowered his sword with a curse and grabbed the slight frame of his captain, the impact causing him to take several steps backward. Chopper was at his side in an instant.

"Lay Luffy on the ground." He instructed as he scanned Luffy's body, searching for any signs of poison.

"Your captain's life is not in danger." Ruby said with a smirk as she casually sat down on the paw of the beopard. "What I injected into his system was in fact an antidote."

"And why should we believe you?" Nami slowly walked over to Luffy. His eyes were unfocused and his breathing was coming out in irregular gasps.

Ruby shrugged. "I don't care whether you do or do not believe me, but it's the truth."

"An antidote. You said you gave him an antidote." Robin said slowly, realization dawning in her eyes. "That means that he was poisoned before."

"Yes." The blond-haired woman rested her chin in her hand. "He was indeed."

"So why did you save him?" Sanji drew in a deep breath of smoke.

"For the game." Ruby said.

Luffy coughed and sat up. "The game of life or death." He grabbed his neck where Ruby had stabbed him with the needle with a dark look. His crew and everyone else might think of him as an idiot, but he knew that this 'game' was not something he wanted to involve his nakama in. His instincts had told him something was wrong with this island, he should have listen to it.

Nami knelt by her captain and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Luffy glanced at her and she gave him a small smile, the gesture telling him that everything was going to be okay. Luffy relaxed, but could not return the smile. Nami faltered at this, usually it was Luffy assuring his friends that everything was going to turn out fine, not the other way around.

"Yes, for the game of life or death." Ruby nodded. "I presume you all are wonder what exactly the game entails, right?"

The Strawhat's glares were her answer.

"I want to break your captain's spirit." Ruby started bluntly. "It's a hobby of mine, you see. I like to find the most determined and confident pirates there are and make them beg for mercy."

"Since when, Nee-san?" Roxy suddenly cried out. Silent tears were streaming down her face. "This isn't like you!"

"Will you shut up?" Ruby didn't even look in her sister's direction. "As I was saying before, for these past couple of days I have observed you all, befriending you and gaining your trust. All of that was so I could see just what makes you tick. And I have finally decided just how I can destroy Stawhat Luffy's soul. Three words."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Huh?" The entire crew cocked their heads.

Ruby rolled her eyes and looked mildly annoyed. "I said that I know how to break your captain's soul, and I can do it with only three words."

Usopp put his hand to his mouth as he laughed. "Three words to break Luffy? Are you kidding me? You obviously don't know our captain at all, as if anything could destroy Luffy's spirit. What are the three words? No more meat?"

Luffy turned his head towards Usopp, his eyes completely terrified. "There's... no more meat?"

"BAKA!" Nami dealt him a swift blow to the head. "Take things seriously, will ya?"

"Let's go guys, we don't need to bother wasting our time with these people." Sanji started walking in the direction of the mouth of the cave. "As Usopp said, three words won't be able to break Luffy's spirit."

"Three words can and will destroy him." Ruby called out.

"And just what are those three words?" Zoro said calmly as he sheathed his katana. Like everybody else, he firmly believed that nothing anyone could say would ever harm Luffy. Even the worst insults his enemies threw at him bounced off without leaving a mark. He was made out of rubber, after all.

Ruby smirked. "I can't be the one to say it, it would have no effect. However, the results would be different coming from a different mouth."

"And whose mouth would that be?" Franky challenged. "Hey Sanji, try telling Luffy 'Can't have dinner'."

"Will you guys stop talking about food? It's messing with Luffy's metal state." Chopper told them. Luffy had visibly paled at the thought of not eating dinner. Nami sighed, exasperated. Luffy was often unpredictable, but when it came to food you knew exactly what was going to happen.

Robin was still frowning. "I'm more worried about this poisoning you mentioned before. Exactly what do you mean by that?"

"Ah, that's exactly what you should be worried about now." The blond woman nodded. "Seeing as it affects all of you, not just your captain. Sanji-san, do you remember those drinks you made especially for your nakama this morning after you were done feeding my crew?"

The cigarette dropped from Sanji's mouth as his eyes widened. "Don't tell me... You didn't!"

The gleam in Ruby's eyes could only be described as sadistic. "I did. I watched all of you drink at least one sip of the liquid, and I can assure you that you are now poisoned. Except, of course, for your captain as I gave him the antidote earlier."

"You poisoned my nakama?" Luffy stood up, his fists shaking with anger.

"All for the game of breaking your spirit." The light from the torches danced playfully in her eyes as she watched the crew's horrified reaction.

Chopper looked down at his arms. "But I don't feel anything wrong."

"It's a very slow acting poison." Ruby shook her head. "So I would be surprised if you did start feeling its affects. The poison starts working sometime during the digestive process, I've estimated that it will be another hour and a half before you start to feel something wrong. When it does start to work, you will first feel slightly dizzy. The dizziness will last for three hours. Then you will develop a high fever and your body will slow down. After that you will have trouble breathing and your insides will feel like they're burning up. That will last for about a day. And for the climax of the poison, you will start to have severe, seizure like muscle spasms until your heart just stops working. It is a very long and painful death."

For awhile, nobody spoke. The Ruby Skull pirates, excluding Roxy, looked on with a bored indifference as the Strawhats took the information in.

"There must be more antidotes. Where are they?" Luffy's hat was lowered so that you couldn't see his eyes. When he looked up, his eyes were aflame with boiling hot anger. "Give them to us now!"

"No." Ruby sneered. "It's part of the game."

"To heck with your game." Zoro placed a hand on his katana.

"There's no need for violence." Ruby sighed. "As I said, it's a game. In a game, any side can come out the winner, you know. I've hidden seven bottles around the island containing an antidote, one for each of the poisoned crew members. But there's only seven. If one of them breaks, well tough luck, one of you ain't surviving. If you win this game, your reward will be that all of your survive. I even know a way out of the storm that I would be willing to show you. But if you loose, I get your captain's soul and all of you die. Sound fair?"

Luffy cracked his knuckles. "I won't loose."

"I love your determination, it makes the game so much more fun." Ruby licked her lips. "I can't wait to break your spirit! This challenge will be the best one I've had in ages!"

"What a twisted sense of entertainment." Chopper muttered. His nakama were alright, but some humans... Well, they were even less human than he was.

"Remember, your crew only has an hour and a half left until the poison kicks in, you might want to hurry and begin searching for the antidotes. Did you know, I've already given you a handicap? I was originally going to start the game just as the affects of the poison started showing, but I just couldn't help myself. I had to start earlier than planned." She told them.

"Your kindness is much appreciated." Franky snorted sarcastically.

Ruby stood up and yawned. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Come on, Roxy, we're going."

"I'm not going with you, Nee-san." Roxy's voice was low and bitter.

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" Ruby's tone was dangerous.

Roxy bared her teeth and climbed to her feet. "I said that i'm not going! I may not like all the Strawhats, but this is going way too far! I don't approve of your actions, Nee-san! People aren't toys, how dare you treat Luffy-kun like this!"

"Are you forgetting you owe me your life?" Ruby asked. "I'm your older sister! You would choose a love interest over family?"

"I would choose a good honest man over a traitor any day!" Roxy screamed. "You lying sick bastard!"

Ruby looked like she had been slapped, shock written all over her face. Then the surprised turned to cold fury. "Fine then, have it your way. If you choose to stay with the Strawhats, then you can die with them too. Alex, Justin, William! We're leaving."

Roxy collapsed to her knees once more, her energy spent. Tear-less sobs shook her body as she moaned small cries of rage. She felt a hand touch her shoulder. It was smaller and not as rough, so it couldn't be Usopp's. Roxy looked up to see Luffy grinning at her.

"You know what?" He said. "I think I might just like you after all."

Roxy smiled at him, but could do nothing more than that. At any other time, she would have been ecstatic at Luffy's words, but they didn't change the facts. Her older sister had betrayed her, and unless they found the antidotes in time, they all were going to die.

* * *

**To giby-chan: Sorry, I only speak English, sadly. So I had to go do some detective work. I went to your profile and saw that it was in Spanish, so I went to Google Translate. But Google Translate is not perfect, and it translated your review as 'Tell me your stories no death?' I hope that is what you mean. I can promise you that I will not kill any of the Strawhat crew. I am very against main character deaths, and a firm believer in happy endings. But I do have to warn you, that this is a darker story. This is not just mainly a romance story.**

**To Deadly In Pink: Hopefully this chapter explained what was in the syringe.**

**To Natylol: I am not an easy person to offend, and love getting reviews explaining what I'm doing wrong. But at the same time, I was hoping it was kind of obvious. I was going for dramatic irony. But there will be several twists in the plot later on that I hope not even you will be able to see through.**

**To SuperHyperShadic3000: Sorry I wasn't punctual with my update, I was busy this week.**

**To Guester: YOU PROCRASTINATE TOO? We should start a procrastination club. Meh, I'm feeling too lazy right now, let's do it next week. But seriously, try the movie. It's good.**

**To Pocky: Sorry this chapter wasn't as fluffy and romantic. I had to get all the drama out of the way.**

**To the Guest reviewer: Glad you thought the chapter was awesome.**


	5. And So They Split

**Hey... I'm back... Please don't kill me because of the ridiculously late update. I went camping for a week, and I was going to update, but then I procrastinated. I definitely put the 'pro' in procrastinate. The next update will not be this Wednesday, but the next, just to let you all know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Be thankful, all you lucky souls.**

* * *

When faced with danger that threatened their life, Nami and Usopp were the first to break down and panic. But not this time. Nami frowned at the barren landscape in front of them with her eyes narrowed. She had to be strong this time, for her captain and for herself. They were going to prove Ruby wrong, and tear apart this little 'game' of hers by the seams. Nobody messed with the Strawhat crew and got away with it.

Nobody.

"Zoro, Chopper, and Franky will search the caves here." Luffy said, his voice low and his hat covering his eyes. The three that he called out nodded. They had exited the cave and were now standing on the cliffs with their back to the sea.

"Sanji, Usopp, and Robin will search the forest." The rubber man continued giving out his orders. Sanji spat out the butt of his cigarette and withdrew a new one. "And Nami and I will search the beach and the area where the cabin is at."

"Um, excuse me." Roxy said timidly. "What about me?"

"You're going to help us?" Usopp asked, he and the rest of the crew looking mildly surprised. Roxy glared fiercely at them, her mouth opened to reply. Then she bit back her rude retort, her face slightly sad.

"Yes." She said softly. "I do not like people dying, and I especially do not like what my sister is doing. And I want to do what I can to help Luffy-kun's friends."

Nami eyed her with disbelief. Was such a drastic personality change possible in a short period of time? She didn't trust her, for more reasons than that she was pursuing the affections of her captain. Luffy belonged to her, and her alone.

_Wait, did I actually just think_ _that?_

"You'll come with Nami and me then." Luffy shrugged, not particularly caring who she went with, but seeing as Nami and him were the only pair of two, she might as well come with them.

"Luffy!" Sanji growled. "You can't manipulate two beautiful women!"

Zoro snorted and eyed the cook. "Jealous that our captain is the only male in a team with two other women, love cook?"

Sanji was about to reply, but Robin laid her hand on his arm. "The teams work out best this way." She said with a soft smile.

"If you say so, Robin-chwan!" Sanji exclaimed, but without his usual vigor. There was another reason for his unease, besides the fact that Luffy got to be with two beautiful ladies. Despite his personality, he did not trust Roxy. It was strange that the captain of the Ruby Skull pirates would include the rest of her crew in her plans, but did not inform her younger sister. It had bugged him ever since they left the cave, and from the look in Robin's eyes, he knew that it did not sit well with the black-haired woman either.

"Let's go find those antidotes!" Nami ordered. "Once you find one, bring it back to the cabin."

The three teams split off, each one heading towards the place Luffy told them to look. Nami, Roxy, and Luffy traveled across the empty plain on the way back to the cabin. It wasn't that long of a walk, really, but with the amount of time they had left until the poison started to work, it felt like they were walking for hours.

Grumbling with impatience, Nami quickened her pace, only to find her next step was met with air. A scream tore out of her throat as her body pitched forward. She dimly heard Luffy yell her name and then her arm was yanked painfully and her descent stopped. Deja vu overcame her as she looked down at the twenty yard drop below her. That was the second time Luffy had saved her from falling.

"Are you okay?" Luffy anxiously asked her as he pulled her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nami didn't push him away like she normally would, but let him check to make sure she was safe. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Roxy was glaring daggers at her, but she didn't particularly mind. Let the purple haired woman be jealous.

"Is this the hole you were talking about earlier, Luffy-kun?" Roxy asked, trying to tear Luffy's attention away from Nami. Unfortunately, her plan worked.

Luffy looked down into the hole and his eyes widened. "It is! I wonder why we couldn't find it when we came searching earlier..." He looked like he might actually be thinking about it, but then he shook his head. "It's a mystery hole alright."

Nami couldn't help but chuckle at his conclusion. While there were many things that could be explained, there were some that were simply just a mystery. "Let's check it out." She suggested. They walked around the side and found a not too steep incline to slip through. Nami shivered as she spotted the skeletons piled up in a heap. There was something wrong with that picture.

"I found this hole by accidentally tumbling down that hill." Luffy gestured to the very steep hill on the other side. Nami found herself suddenly grateful that her captain was made out of rubber. If he had taken that fall as a normal person, his injuries would have been worse off than a little prick on the arm.

"This place is creepy." Roxy shuddered and pulled her jacket closer around her. "I feel like we're intruding on someone's grave, or rather, many people's grave. Can we leave?"

Nami walked over towards Luffy and ripped off a piece of his red vest. She silenced his yelp of protest with a glare. "We need someway of finding this place again, don't we?" She asked.

After a moment, Luffy nodded. "But why did you have to use my shirt?" He said mournfully as he tended to his ripped clothing.

Nami sighed. "We couldn't use mine or Roxy's clothes, could we? As the only man of the group, you have to take on these kind of responsibilities, Luffy."

She ignored what he had to say in response to that and went and found a stick, which she tied the strip of bright red cloth onto. "Okay, we can leave."

"Wait!" Roxy said. She was kneeling by one of the skeleton propped up against the wall. With a sickened look, Roxy put a trembling hand into the skeleton's rib cage. When she withdrew it, she was holding a cream-colored piece of paper and a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "I think it's one of the antidotes!"

Nami rushed to her side and grabbed the piece of paper. "Congratulations." She read. "Here is one of the seven antidotes. I'm impressed that you managed to find this place. With the angle it's set at, it's near impossible to see, let alone find. Good luck at finding the others, though I sincerely hope you loose the game.

The silence as the three people took the note in with disgust was broken by Roxy. "Nee-san." Her she balled her fists, the skin around the knuckles turning white. "Why would you do something so gross as hiding one of the antidotes in a dead body?"

Nami nodded in agreement. Something about that was just so _wrong__. _"Though, it does make me wonder, will all the antidotes be in places so hard to find, and in stuff that we wouldn't think to look in?" She voiced her question. Roxy helplessly shrugged. "What do you think, Luffy?" Nami asked. There was no reply. Turning around, Nami saw her captain crouched on the ground, examining something in his hand.

"What are you doing, Luffy-kun?" Roxy edged closer to him.

Luffy stood up. "I think I found the rock that stabbed me." He said in a low, serious tone. Turning around, he held up the object. It was a hand carved arrowhead, with blood crusting the tip, hung from a leather strap.

And it looked exactly like the necklace Justin was wearing.

* * *

"Is there something wrong, Robin-chan?" Sanji asked as he spied Robin looking off towards the beach. Usopp paused his search through the bushes to look up, but then shrugged and returned to his work. Robin shook her head.

"There's something bothering me." She admitted. "Would it be alright with you two if I left momentarily to go check up on something?"

Sanji frowned, ash dropping off of his cancer stick. "I don't think that's a good idea. It's too dangerous to go out all alone, what if one of the Ruby Skull pirates attacked you?"

"From the way Ruby put it, it seem like they were just fine waiting and watching us try to find the antidotes." Usopp said as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands. If you looked close enough, you could see the slight tremor going through his body as he fought off the terror the thought of being poisoned brought. But, like Nami, he was doing his best to keep a clear head. Panicking would not aid in their search.

"Are you starting to feel the effects of the poison yet?" Sanji asked, his voice liquid with worry.

Robin suppressed a small laugh. "We still have an hour until the poison kicks in." She gently reminded him. "Once you start to feel the poison working means that I will too."

"But don't worry!" Usopp forced his voice to be cheerful. "We'll get the antidotes long before the poison starts to work! Even if it's the last thing I do, the Great Captain Usopp-" He stopped suddenly, and his head lowered. When he began to speak again, his voice was much quieter and softer. "No. Even if it's the last thing he does, Luffy will never let us down."

"But that's why we need to do all we can to help our captain." Sanji's tone matched Usopp's. "It's our duty as a crew to make sure that it's _not_ the last thing he does."

Robin didn't say anything, but felt fierce determination. For the man who had risked everything for her, even by declaring war with the entire world, she would do anything. The Strawhat crew was _her _family now, and Luffy was _her_ captain. And she would rather give herself up to the government before she stopped trying to protect them.

Sanji stood up tall and looked her in the eye. "Be back soon."

Robin forced herself to give him a small smile before disappearing into the trees. Sanji stared in the direction she walked off before getting back to his search. Sometimes being so overprotective of females (especially the females in his crew) was so darn hard.

"Isn't she heading towards the beach?" Usopp asked. "But I thought that's where Luffy and the others are looking."

"Robin-chan knows what she's doing. Let's get back to looking. If we don't find at least one antidote before it's time to go back, the Marimo's going to laugh at us." Sanji shuddered at the thought.

Robin pushed herself out of the thick forest and walked purposefully towards the beach where the two ships were docked. She had wondered about the Ruby Skull's pirate ship for quite sometime, and decided to take this chance to check it out. The old galleon completely dwarfed Sunny, but the Strawhat's ship was in way better condition. Even with the repairs Franky made on the Tigress, the ship still looked like it had gone through hell and back. At least it was no longer in danger of sinking.

Carefully climbing up the worn rope ladder, Robin made her way on deck. Taking one look at the battered deck, she made her way inside the cabin. Ignoring the Gallery, Robin headed straight for where the library would be, that is, if the ship had a library. The stench of rotting wood filled her nose as she climbed down further into the belly of the ship. Deep within the ship, Robin found what she was looking for.

The door to the library squealed as she opened it, the hinges loudly protesting against the movement. Robin involuntarily flinched and held her breath. The stillness of the ship was grating on her nerves, and every little sound made her hesitate.

The walls were lined with books, just like the library at the Sunny, but they were covered in a thick blanket of dust. Looking down, Robin could see a fresh pair of footprints heading towards the desk planted in the middle of the room. She followed the footprints, fighting the urge to sneeze. A syringe filled with clear liquid sat on the desk, with a cream-colored note underneath. Carefully, Robin slid the note from underneath the syringe and read it.

'Congratulations! You have found an antidote! Good luck in finding the others. Though, I have to ask, what are you doing trespassing on my ship? Sincerely, Ruby Elton.'

_So this is what the antidotes look like._ Robin thought as she slid both the antidote and the note into her pocket. She glanced around the room, hoping for some clue on the whereabouts of the Ruby Skull crew, but there wasn't much to look at besides books and dust. She turned to leave, but a book on the desk caught her eye.

"Master of souls, the demon of Uffern Island." Robin muttered the title of the book out loud. With gentle hands, she picked up the book and wiped off the dust from the cover with her jacket. She flipped to the first page. As she read, her eyes began to narrow with surprise.

"What on earth is this...?" Her voice trailed off.

* * *

"It's no good." Chopper flopped to the ground. "There's too many caves. How are we suppose to search them all before the poison kicks in?"

"Don't be like that." Franky said. "We've already found three antidotes. The others have probably already found the rest."

"We have only thirty more minutes before the time Ruby told us the poison will start to work." Zoro stretched and then rested his arm on his three katana. "So we should start to head back to the cabin soon."

"We might as well go now." Franky said. "We've searched almost all the caves closest to the top, and the bottom caves are too hard to get to. I'm almost positive that not even that devil Ruby would risk her own neck to hide the antidotes down there."

Zoro started walking towards the entrance of the cave. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Zoro." Chopper said tiredly. "The way out is in the opposite direction."

Zoro froze for a moment. "Is that so?" He stiffly turned around.

_He's hopeless._ Both Chopper and Franky thought with a sigh. Zoro walked passed a hole in the rocky floor of the cave. With a passing glance, he looked down into the blackness. It didn't look like the bottom of that hole was close. When he looked back up, he was face to face with none other than Alex Aslow.

"What the?" Zoro instinctively jumped back a step, at the same time unsheathing two of his katana.

Alex slowly reached up and pulled out the long broad sword he had strapped to his back. "Good after noon, Strawhat pirates." He rumbled. "I'm afraid that the rate you have gathered the antidotes has been bothering Ruby-san. I have to ask that you hand over all the antidotes you own."

"And if we say no?" Franky growled, and prepared to fire his arm canon.

"By 'ask', I really mean 'demand'." Alex pointed his sword at Zoro. "If you don't follow the rules of the game, I will have to dispose of you."

"What do you mean by rules?!" Chopper shivered with anger. "There are no rules to this twisted game of yours."

Alex cocked his head. "Ruby-san is the one making the rules. And she says that you have to hand over the antidotes."

Chopper and Franky opened their mouths to protest, but Zoro silenced them by unsheathing Wado Ichimonji and sticking the handle in his mouth. "You guys take the antidotes and run." He ordered, and then his mouth twisted up into a grin. "Besides, I've wanted to fight this guys ever since I first laid eyes on him. Just how good are you with that sword, Alex?"

Alex shifted his weight into a fighting stance. "I'm nowhere near as good as you, Roronoa Zoro."

"Then how on earth do you hope to defeat me?" Zoro slid down into his own stance.

Alex said nothing, but before Zoro could blink, the burly man had landed a kick to Zoro's jaw. With a grunt, Zoro flew backwards, coming to a stop with his head hanging over the hole.

Zoro blinked, his head feeling slightly woozy. It only increased as his airway was cut off as Alex pressed his boot into Zoro's throat.

"Zoro!" Chopper screamed.

"How do you move so fast?" Zoro managed to say. Alex only slightly smiled.

"Because I don't exist." Was his answer. Zoro had no time to think about it because Alex swiftly punched him in the face. The punched knocked his jaw loose, and unbidden to his will, Zoro opened his mouth slightly.

"Strong Right!" Franky's attack knocked Alex off of Zoro.

"Are you okay, Zoro?" Chopper rushed to the green haired swordsman's aid. Zoro pushed him away, and turned over, desperately looking down the hole.

"Where did that guy go?" Franky yelled in frustration. Alex had mysteriously vanished after Franky's attack connected with him.

"He's not the only one that's gone." Zoro laughed. But it was not a laugh of mirth, it was a laugh full of disbelief and sadness. "That bastard managed to make me drop my katana." He vainly reached his hand down the hole, the deep hole that his precious sword, no, Kuina's sword had disappeared into.

* * *

"You actually let one of those human's hit you?" Ruby snarled and backhanded Alex.

Alex touched his cheek. "Sorry, Ruby-san." He said, his voice full of venom.

Ruby balled her fists, her eyes full of fury. "Sorry doesn't cut it! You were suppose to get those antidotes, yet you come back here empty-handed. Tell me that you at least managed to do _something_ useful."

Alex bit his tongue, but the words flowed out of his mouth. A curse be upon Ruby and her stupid power. "The swordsman, Zoro-san, lost one of his swords in the cave when I attacked him."

Ruby sighed and rubbed her temples. "I guess I can use that to my advantage. Just disappear now, Alex."

_One of these days, you're really going to regret using the souls of the dead to do your bidding._ Alex thought before he blinked out of existence.

"Well then," Ruby grabbed a knife. "I suppose it's time to start stage two."

* * *

**Brief note before I begin answering reviews. Uffern means Hell in Welch, just thought you would want to know. So the island's name is actually Hell Island.**

**To clea everlasting: Sorry my chapter is so late. Luffy and Nami make a great couple, don't they?**

**To VirajPatel: I can never apologize enough for being so late in my update. Anyway, you need to update your story sometime soon! I freaking love that thing!**

**To LiberyBell.047: I'm actually more of a drama fan than a romance fan, but I'm trying to expand my writing style, so I added romance into this fiction. Thanks for reviewing my story XD**

**To Guester: Between my anime watching, manga reading, and pretending to act like a normal human being, I don't have enough time to join a procrastination club. And no, I haven't destroyed Luffy yet, I'm saving that for later.**

**To Sawada Tsukimi: Thank you, your review was the one that got me off my lazy butt to start writing again. I will update once a week, on Wednesdays. If I fail to keep my promise, I give you permission to send assassins after me. As for how many chapters this is going to be, the honest answer is I have no idea. I'm thinking I want it to be around twenty, but who knows. **


	6. Is it Okay to Cry?

**It's not a long chapter. At all. I sincerely apologize for that, but I had a bad case of writer's block and this was all I could squeeze out. I'll do better next time. This chapter is a little bit over one thousand words, and my goal for next week is over three thousand. You can go ahead and throw rotten tomatoes at me. But the good news is, I finally found a cover image I liked! Enough of me rambling, onward to the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I can't think of anything interesting to add to the disclaimer.**

* * *

_Roxy sighed as the dying rays of the sun bathed her face with warm light. She slightly smiled with her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin._

_"Roxy?" A voice called behind her. Roxy's smile broadened as she turned around._

_"I've decided." She told her husband. "Let's become pirates!"_

Roxy opened her eyes, tears trickling down her face. How come that demon let her remember her past at the most confusing moments? And once she did remember, the demon viciously tore away her memories once more, leaving her helpless, a slave to the whims and desires of the demon that controlled her. Roxy wished that she could just...

"Zoro and the others brought back four antidotes," Nami's voice interrupted Roxy's thoughts. She turned to the Strawhat pirates, the memories of her past disappearing as quickly as they came. "Luffy, Roxy, and I found one, Sanji and Usopp found one, and Robin found one on the Ruby Skull's pirate ship. That seven antidotes." The orange haired navigator's voice was thick with relief.

"We're saved." Chopper sighed. Already, his head was becoming fuzzy and it was hard to breathe. The two hours before the poison kicked in were almost up.

"Wait!" Usopp panicked. "What if they're not antidotes? They could be more poison! What if that crazy woman is still tricking us?"

"Only one way to find out." Zoro said nonchalantly and grabbed one of the syringes. They were back inside the cabin, in the room where they used to eat their meals. Before any of the others could stop him, he jabbed the thin needle into a vein in his wrist and pushed the liquid into his blood stream. There was a pregnant silence as they all watched for a reaction.

"Well." Zoro said after a couple of minutes. "I'm not dead. And my head's beginning to feel clear again."

"You... You..." Chopper's hoofs were shaking. "You IDIOT! What if that wasn't an antidote?"

"Then I would have died." The swordsman said simply.

Even Luffy looked at his first mate in anger. "You could have been killed, Zoro!"

Zoro shrugged and stood up. "I'm going back to our ship for a drink." He said gruffly and walked out before anybody could stop him. Sanji's mouth was pressed together with irritation and he looked like he was going to go out after him.

"Don't." Franky shook his head at the cook. "This is his way of releasing his anger and sadness."

The group was quiet again. They had all heard about how Zoro had lost his sword in the fight with Alex. They knew how important that katana was for him, even though they didn't know the reason why. Luffy put his hand to his hat as he silently mourned Zoro's loss. Zoro's sword was like his hat, and Luffy could only imagine the frustration and sadness he would feel if he lost his hat.

Roxy looked away from the Strawhats, almost feeling like she was intruding. She pressed her eyes closed once more, feeling like there was something missing. As soon as she did, she could feel the rush of memories pouring into her head.

_Her husband's arms slid around her waist and Roxy smirked. "I thought you were mad at me." She told the man behind her._

_"I was... for a bit." He kissed the back of her head. "But it's hard to stay mad at the woman you love."_

_"Do you accept my apology then?" Roxy asked. The boat underneath her feet shifted a little as the waves pushed it around. Around her, people bustled around, each doing their jobs. Some of them briefly glanced at the two before looking away, while some others had a little laugh at the intimate moment the couple was sharing._

_"I'm the one who should be apologizing." Her husband said with a sigh. "But you are going to insist that it was your fault anyway, right? Fine, I will grudgingly accept your apology."_

Roxy opened her eyes again and her memories slid away. She was left feeling slightly sad, but she had no clue why. She looked back at the Strawhat's to see that all of them had now taken the antidote. _Strange._She thought. _When did they do that?_ She guess that she must not have paid much attention and cursed herself. A pirate should always pay attention to their surrounding, because who knew when the enemy would strike?

Usopp put a hand to his chest. He had begun to feel his lungs constricting, making it very difficult to breath. But after he had taken the antidote, he felt better. He smiled to himself, feeling very proud that he had not panicked. It was also him, not Sanji, that found the antidote in the forest, hidden underneath the root of a tree in a spiders nest. Of course, it was Sanji, and not him, that retrieved the antidote. But he had still found it, and that was what mattered!

"So what do we do now?" Robin asked. Inside, she was feeling very conflicted. She wanted to tell the crew about the contents of the book she read, but she still didn't believe it herself. If it was true though... It would explain a lot of things about this island, and the woman who called herself Ruby. It just didn't make any sense logically. But this was the grand line, where logic itself was nonexistent.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nami cracked a smile.

"It's time to retaliate." Sanji said with a smirk.

"We are going to go find Ruby." Luffy said darkly. "And make her pay for harming my nakama."

Roxy felt a slight pang. It was her older sister they were talking about, after all. But then again, her older sister was a down right psychotic bastard that needed to go down before she hurt somebody else. "I think I might know where they are, Luffy-kun." Roxy said, feeling like she was betraying someone as she called the Strawhat captain Luffy-kun. Why did she feel so dirty when she pursued the affections of the rubber man?

She felt all eyes on her as the air grew thick with excitement.

* * *

Zoro chugged down his third bottle of saké and stared off into the sea with dim eyes. Blindly, he reached for a fourth bottle and popped open the lid. The water sparkled as the waves gently rocked the boat. Normally, the waves were soothing to Zoro, but right now they made him want to throw up.

The alcohol was suppose to numb the pain and make him forget. So far, it was doing pretty poorly at its job.

_I'm sorry, Kuina._ Zoro thought. _I promised you... but yet... your sword... I'm sorry. I failed._

He took a large gulp, trying to drink away the agony. The only time he had cried, besides when he was a kid, was when he promised Luffy that he would not lose again after his match with Mihawk. Since then, he had done his best to become the strong warrior he was now. Or, the strong warrior he thought he had been. He needed to become stronger, he wasn't nearly strong enough.

_I wonder._ Zoro took another long swig. Sanji was probably going to kill him for drinking all the sake they had stored. _Is it okay to cry?_

* * *

**To Deadly In Pink: I'm not going to tell you what Robin found just yet. *Laughs evilly* I'm glad you like my story!**

**To clea everlasting: Here's your next chapter. I should stop apologizing for the short length of the chapter, but I can't seem to stop myself.**

**To SawadaTsukimi: 'They Are Dead' would certainly be devastating new to Luffy, but they're not the three words that I thought of. Keep guessing though! I like it when people guess.**

**To Kasai Shingai: You don't know how much I enjoy your reviews. I look forward to them each time I update. I'm kind of sorry to say this, but I hope this chapter makes Roxy even more confusing to you. Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that the procrastination club doesn't do that much. XD And you caught me. Mist of Memories is my all time favorite One Piece fanfiction. I got the idea to update every Wednesday because that's when HeroR updates Mist of Memories. But other than that, Wednesday is a good day to update.**

**To Qana: I know nothing much went on in this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it.**


	7. What She Did

**It's Wednesday again, and here's the seventh chapter of Three Words to Destroy Him!**

**Do you know what I don't like right now? My cat. I walked into my bedroom to begin writing today's chapter, and I found my cat lounging on my bed. She had fallen asleep on my laptop. On my _laptop_ of all places. As soon as I walked into my room, she opened one eye and gave a look that said, 'You may pet me, peasant.' My cat thinks that she's the empress of the house. So I tried to get her off my laptop, 'cause I need that thing to write obviously, and I managed to remove her. But in the process she friggin scratched me. I ran to the bathroom, because she had somehow slashed one of the veins in my wrist and I was bleeding all over the place. Once I had managed to stop the blood, I went back to my room to write, and guess what? My cat. Was on my bed. Sleeping on my laptop. I'm using my brother's computer right now. Stupid cat.**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own One Piece, but apparently my cat owns my laptop.**

* * *

Robin was troubled. But saying that she was troubled was a bit of an understatement. She felt the uncomfortable weight of the book in her small shoulder sack, constantly reminding her of the volume's presence. The words that she had read played through her mind. There was no way that was possible, but... there was always a slight chance that what she had read was true. But if it was, her crew was in grave danger. Should she keep the information secret? In her heart, she knew that she should tell, but every time she opened her mouth, something stopped her. It almost felt like an outside, foreign presence was purposely trying to stop her from telling her crew about the contents of the book.

She kept her head down, fighting a silent battle with herself as the Strawhats and Roxy made their way to the Sunny. They had to go pick up Zoro before Roxy lead them to the supposed location of the Ruby Skull pirates.

Chopper was silent as well as they made their trek back to the ship. He couldn't keep Alex's words out of his head. _"Because I don't exist." _What did that mean? How could somebody not exist? He saw Alex with his own two eyes, but then the man disappeared as soon as Franky attacked him. Who just disappeared like that? And the way he moved, it was so fast!

"Are you sure you know where the rest of your crew is?" Nami questioned Roxy for about the thousandth time, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Roxy made a small noise, nodding her head. Just like Chopper and Robin, her thoughts were moving a hundred miles an hour. She was pretty sure she knew where the rest of the Ruby Skull pirates were, but the problem was she didn't know _how. _ The moment she wondered where they were, the information suddenly popped into her head. She wanted to tell Luffy-kun this, but something wasn't letting her. No matter how hard she tried, every time she opened her mouth, nothing came out. It was becoming rather frustrating.

"A-are you sure that this is a good idea?" Usopp glanced around with apprehension. Everywhere he looked on the island, he saw demons and ghosts just waiting to pounce on him. He knew that it was only an illusion made up by his over active mind, but it freaked him out just the same.

"Do you have a better idea?" Franky asked him, knowing fully well that the long-nosed man did not. Usopp clammed up at the question and looked away, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. He was a brave warrior of the sea, darn it!

"Zoro!" Luffy called out once he caught sight of the ship. Before anyone could stop him, he stretched his arms out and latched onto the side of the ship.

"Luffy! Wait for us!" Sanji reached out, a moment too late. Their captain flung himself at the ship and vanished behind the railing. The Strawhats cursed and fastened their pace from a walk to a jog. They were a couple of feet away from the ship when Luffy's worried face appeared.

"Guy's!" Luffy called down to them. "Zoro's gone!"

"What is that stupid Marimo doing?" Sanji spat as he climbed up the rope ladder. The first thing he noticed when he clambered over the railing, was that the air stank of alcohol. His jaw dropped open as he spotted their entire sake supply littering the deck. Every last bottle was completely dry. His fist balled in anger.

Chopper and Usopp shied away from the cook as they noticed the deadly aurora emanating from his body. He was particularly nasty when he was mad, and neither of them wanted to be there when he snapped.

"He's not in his room." Franky reported as he came back from his search.

"There's no sign of him in the kitchen." Nami told Luffy as she came back onto deck.

"And he's not in the library." Robin stepped up behind the orange-haired navigator.

Nami gave Robin a side look. "Why do you think he would be in the library?"

Robin shrugged. "You never know." She said with a slight smile.

Luffy swore softly and scratched his head, knocking his hat onto his back in the process. "Where are you, Zoro?"

* * *

Zoro sighed as he finished the last bottle of alcohol and looked at it mournfully. It was all gone, but the ache in his chest had yet to dissipate. He stood up, only swaying slightly on his feet. He had a high tolerance for alcohol, but he had consumed enough to possibly kill a normal man. It was safe to say that he was a little bit, if not very, drunk.

_Well then,_ He thought through a hazy mind. _I better get back to the others._ He started towards the ladder, and climbed down. Halfway to stable ground, his hands slipped, and he fell. Groggily, he looked up at the sun, wondering just how he had managed to land flat on his back. _Maybe I should wait until I'm sober to attempt anything._

But as quickly as the idea came to his mind, he dismissed it and got back onto his feet. He started walking back towards the cabin, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. He would not fall. Only the weak fell.

"Huh?" The swordsman looked up. He was in the heart of the forest, nowhere near the cabin where his crew was at. Maybe the others did have a point when they poked fun at his horrid sense of direction. He turned right and started walking again, positive that this was the direction where the cabin lay.

And now he was staring at the sea from the cliffs. He narrowed his eyes, feeling very pissed off. His sense of direction wasn't really that bad... was it? He stiffly turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. He would find his crew eventually if he kept wandering around.

"Hey, Zoro-san." A young voice said. Zoro glanced behind him to see Justin, the cook from the Ruby Skull pirates.

"What do you want?" He snarled and put a hand on one of his katana.

Justin looked at him with the saddest eyes that Zoro had ever seen. "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. Ruby-san is too busy being focused on Robin-san and Roxy-san to notice that I have left the base. I came to warn you."

"And why should I listen to the enemy?" Zoro spat. "I can't trust you, not after what your captain did!"

"She's not my captain!" Justin snarled, but as soon as his burst of anger had come, it vanished. "Please." His voice cracked. "Just hear me out."

Zoro hesitated, but nodded. Even so, he kept his grip firmly on the handle of his sword. "What is it that you want to say?"

"I can't stay long." Justin said softly. "Ruby-san will notice that I'm gone soon. I-I just came to tell you not to listen to Roxy-san. It's a trap."

Zoro narrowed his eyes with confusion. "What do you mean? What's a trap?"

"Ruby-san is planning-" Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened with pain and his hand shot up to clutch his heart. "She-She found out! Please, Zoro-san, you have to save Roxy!"

"What?" Zoro started running towards Justin. His mouth slightly opened as he saw the boy start to flicker, the edges of his body start to fade.

"Please." Justin whispered and locked his eyes with Zoro. Zoro was temporarily lost in the absolute agony and sadness in the boy's gaze before Justin vanished right in front of Zoro's eyes.

Zoro was frozen, his hand still stretched out to grab Justin. His mind snapped from drunk to sober in an instant, with one thing clear to him. He may still be confused about what was happening, but he knew for sure that he absolutely had to find Luffy and the rest of the Strawhats.

* * *

"How dare you!" Ruby spat, her thumbs pressing into Justin's neck. "How _dare_ you?"

Justin struggled to pull Ruby's hands away, his face turning red as he desperately tried to breathe. It wasn't fair! He was already dead, so how could Ruby make it so that he could still feel pain? Why couldn't he just rest in peace? William and Alex stood off to the side, their faces twisted in agony as they watched Ruby strangle the youngest member of their crew.

After a minute, Justin's hands slid off Ruby's and he went limp, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Ruby cast him aside, smiling as she heard the bang as his head connected with a tree. The boy started fading out of existence, but Ruby didn't care. She would call on him again once the time called for it.

The blond-haired woman turned her furious eyes on her other two pawns. Would they also try to spill information to her prey once her back was turned. The two men flinched but held her stare, refusing to look away from this monster.

"Get ready." Ruby finally hissed. "Roxy is leading the Strawhats to our location. They'll be here shortly."

Ales nodded, but William's mouth turned down into a snarl as he openly glared at the person controlling him. Ruby met his glare.

"You have something to say?" Ruby said with a harsh voice.

"You will not get away with this." William answered. "The Strawhat's will not fall in this 'game' of yours. You will not win, Ruby."

Instead of being furious like William thought she was going to be, Ruby laughed with amusement. "And why is that? Please enlighten me."

William lifted his head high. "Because the Strawhats are stronger than you are."

Ruby just smiled. "Oh I know. But I've already found a counter to that. I injected part of my soul into all the Strawhats except for their captain."

William's eyes flashed with worry. "When?"

"The first night they were here." Ruby sat down on a tree stump and crossed her legs. "Isn't that right, Alex? He was the one who helped me distract Luffy when he unexpectedly came back."

William gave Alex a questioning stare. The older man adverted his eyes in shame.

"All I have to do is pull a few strings and the Strawhats will start to crumble from the inside." Ruby said. "And then I will finally be able to get my hands of Luffy. I wonder, how loudly can I make him scream?"

"You...you..." William sputtered and Ruby gave him a bored look.

"Shut up already. I've already killed you once, who says that I won't do it again?"

* * *

"Where are you, Zoro?" Luffy muttered as he clenched his hat in his hands. He could not get rid of the feeling that something bad had happened to his swordsman. He didn't react at first when he felt the petite hand of his navigator on his shoulder. He looked at her.

Nami gave Luffy a comforting smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure that we'll find him. Zoro's strong, remember?"

Luffy didn't answer. Before Nami had time to blink, Luffy wrapped his arms around her middle and pressed his face into her neck. After a few seconds, Nami hesitantly slid her arms around her captain and hugged him back. The embrace felt strangely natural.

"I hope so." Luffy whispered into her ear. "I'm just... scared. I don't like this place."

"Me too." Nami admitted. "But I know that we'll get through this, we always do."

But at what cost?

* * *

**Did Luffy seem OOC in this chapter? O-o I was trying my hardest to keep him character, but it's hard writing characters that aren't your own. Does anybody else feel like that?**

**To Deadly In Pink: I was mean to Zoro last chapter, wasn't I? But of course Zoro gets his sword back, I'm not that mean... probably. I have big plans for Roxy, but they will be revealed in later chapters.**

**To clea everlasting: It's true, everybody gets writer's block, but thanks for understanding!**

**To Pum Pumpkin Witch: I'm glad that I could bring you back into the wonderful world of One Piece fanfiction! Thanks for the compliment, it's nice to hear that people like the way I write my story. I'm sorry that there's not much action in my story so far. I do have lots of fights planed, but I'm not so good at writing fight scenes. Right now, I'm trying to improve the way I write fights so that it's not completely boring and repetitive. But I promise more action in later chapters!**

**To Emeralddrop: Fanks! ^_^ It's okay if you ramble, everyone does. I do it all the time!**

**To Kasai Shingai: I'm rather terrible, aren't I? I take that as a compliment, my friends don't call me a serial killer for nothing! **

**To HeroR: ...AHHHHHHHH! You are my all time favorite fanfiction author, and Mist of Memories is my all time favorite story. To have you review my story... I think I cried when I got the email. And then I freaked out and cried some more. Tears of joy, though, not sorrow. I know what you mean by dropped stories. Last week seven of the stories that I had been following where dropped and I wanted to go punch someone in the face. I don't have any plans to abandon this story, I'm going to see it through the end even if it kills me. I've been trying to make this story a bit on the mysterious side, and like it when people compliment me on it. Compliments are ambrosia to an author.**


	8. 101 Ways to Piss Off Ruby

**Hello again! I tis back! (I love saying tis and twas, don't know why. There's just something about that extra 't' sound.)**

**You can all skip this author's note. I just have something to get off my chest. You all remember how my cat scratched me last week? Well, one of my friends thought it was a cutting scar, and she nearly had a heart attack. About six months ago, she had her own problem with self-inflicting harm, and it got so bad that she tried to commit suicide. And I was the one who found her. It was the scariest thing in my life, seeing as my biggest fear has always been seeing one of my dearest friends die. I quickly assured her that it was just my cat. It got me thinking, and I just had to add this as my author's note. This is to all the people who are having problems at this moment, because I _KNOW_ you're out there. Hang in there, okay? Things will get better, they always do. And remember, there is always someone who thinks the world of you and would be devastated if something happened to you. You are amazing, wonderful, beautiful, and talented. Never forget that.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece, Luffy would be more romantic and have more of a brain.**

* * *

Ruby drummed her fingers against her thigh as she scowled at the world. She was sitting on a rock that was placed in the center of a clearing. Trees of the forest lined the clearing, and she glared at them so hard that it was possible that they would spontaneously combust. What was taking them so long? Ruby sighed in frustration and slumped against her rock.

"Plans not going so well?" Justin-she had called him back from the dead just for the heck of it-smirked at her.

"Shut up." Ruby snarled, her nails digging into her own flesh. She didn't feel the pain, though. She had stopped feeling pain over two hundred years ago.

"I think that the demon is mad that for the first time in a long time, her plans are being foiled." William sent Ruby a look filled with mock pity. Ruby turned her heated gaze on him and wondered why she didn't just send the three of them back to the land of the dead. But of course, she already knew the answer to that question. It was the reason she did everything she did in the first place.

"And her plans are being foiled by _Luffy_ of all people." Alex chuckled. "And he's an idiot." He frowned. "But I'm also guessing that's one of the reasons why he's so good at foiling plans. I have a feeling he does that often."

"Maybe it's because idiots can be so unpredictable." William shrugged with a slight smile. He knew that their conversation was aggravating Ruby, and that made it all the more fun.

"Except when it comes to food choices!" Justin pointed out. "Did you see all that meat he ate? You could feed a small country for a week with what he consumes in a day!"

Alex's frowned deepened and he looked like he was in deep thought. "How come he's as skinny as a broom? That's just not fair."

"Dude." William shook his head. "You sound like a girl."

"He's right, you know." Justin nodded furiously. "I would love to stuff myself without gaining a pound."

"You never gain any weight." William snorted. "All of that goes to that growth-spurt you're having." _Or were having._

"Hey, there was this one time I ate fifty chocolate bars and gained three pounds." Justin pouted.

Alex held up his finger. "Fun fact. Did you know-"

"SHUT UP!" Ruby roared, her face red with anger. "WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!"

The three dead crew mates secretly fist bumped each other.

"Were are they?" Ruby asked, partly to herself. "Roxy, that lazy wench, should have led them here by now."

William's eyes flashed with anger. "Don't talk about my wife like that!" He hissed. His entire form trembled with grief and fury. Ruby flashed him a bored look before grinning.

"Tell me, William." She said sweetly. "Does it hurt to see me make your lovely wife hit on a younger guy? Does it hurt watching me return her memories when ever she closes her eyes, only to take them away again when she opens them? Don't you just want to _kill_ me?" She laughed tauntingly and flicked her finger in his direction. William's form flickered and he bit his lip.

Oh how he wanted to strangle Ruby for all that she had done to him and his friends. But it was impossible to kill a demon who had complete control over your soul. But Ruby hadn't taken any of the Strawhats yet, they could still beat her. And that was the hope he was holding onto.

_Please, Luffy-san. Please save my wife._

"It's okay, sir." Alex said softly to William. "The Strawhats will keep the captain safe."

"Yeah." Justin joined in, speaking in low tones. "I talked to Zoro-san personally, and I'm sure he'll keep Captain Roxy safe." His face twisted into a grimace. "But I think I confused him more than warned him."

"So, Zoro-san was separated from the rest of the Strawhats?" William raised his eyebrows. "That's good! Ruby wants all of the Strawhats present for when she puts her plan into action. As long as Zoro-san stays away, they should be fine."

Alex snickered. "Maybe his infamous sense of direction is actually a good thing in this situation."

"Are the three of you plotting something?" Ruby asked darkly. The three men snapped to attention.

"No, ma'am!" They said in unison.

Ruby's scowl deepened. "Don't call me ma'am!" She snapped. "It makes me feel old."

"That makes sense." Justin said with a straight face. "You're ancient, after all."

"Of all the skeletons I chose to keep from your crew," Ruby groaned loudly. "Why did I have to pick you three?"

* * *

_"I'm scared."_ Nami shuddered as Luffy's words replayed in her mind. Last night was the first time she had ever heard Luffy admit to being scared, and truthfully, that scared her. Even though it did prove that he was actually a human being, and not a moronic freak.

But it was that same idiot with a black hole for a stomach that Nami realized she was falling in love with. And it hurt her to see him this depressed. Depression and Luffy did not go well together. Like ketchup on ice cream. Or a penniless purse. Nami inwardly shuddered at the thought of being broke.

"We are here." Usopp's voice caught her attention. She turned slightly to see Usopp, Franky, Chopper, and Luffy squatting down by a rough sketch of the island Usopp made in the dirt. Usopp was using a stick to point at a location on the map. "The forest is here," Usopp pointed to a different location. "and the cliffs are over here."

Nami's eyebrow rose as she peered at the map. To say that it was bad would be an understatement, she couldn't even make heads from tails out of it. Grabbing her own stick, she walked over to the boys and rubbed out the map with her foot.

"What did you do that for?" Chopper asked.

"Nami!" Usopp complained. "I worked hard on that!"

"Don't talk to Nami-san like that." Sanji muttered as he smoked off to the side, staring out into the sea. His heart wasn't in it, however, and his eyes seemed distant. The constant mist of the island was making it rather hard to smoke at the moment, but he didn't care.

Nami took her stick and in ten minutes had drawn a much more accurate map of the island. "We are here." She pointed to a location completely different from the one Usopp had pointed to earlier. "These are the cliffs, the forest, the plains, and the woody area with the cabin." She moved the stick with each new place she listed off. "Now, what is the point of this?"

"Wow, Nami." Luffy looked at her with shinning eyes. "You really are amazing." Nami fought off a blush and looked away.

"We're trying to figure out where Zoro went off to." Franky offered up an explanation.

Nami nodded slowly. That made sense, except for... "This is Zoro we're talking about. He could be anywhere."

"This is so confusing." Luffy's eyebrows scrunched up together as he attempted to think. Nami couldn't help but think he looked adorable. Was adorable an appropriate word to use when describing a guy?

"I think we can rule out the beach." Chopper said with a slight smile. They were at the beach currently, and there was no sign of Zoro. It would be safe to assume that the green-haired swordsman was not here.

"Where do you think he may have run off to?" Usopp asked. There was a long silence.

"That, is a good question." Luffy said finally. The rest nodded in agreement.

Robin briefly lifted her eyes to smile at the rest of her crew before turning back to her book. It was good to see them acting normally. Nami wasn't the only one who had noticed the captain's shift in mood, after all.

_'Have you ever thought that you've seen a wall of endless storms?'_ The book read. _'Many sailors have claimed to have seen this mysterious occurrence. But none have actually dared to brave the storm to see what lies beyond, for it is said that inside the storm lays the legendary Uffern Island. And on that island dwells one of the most ancient demons known in this world. The Master of Souls, is what many have named the demon.'_

Devil Fruits in themselves were hard to believe in. In the East Blue, the ocean where Nami, Zoro, Luffy had come from, and the ocean that Sanji had grown up in, devil fruits were even thought to be a myth. But there were some strange things about this world that Robin called home that you just had to accept. With that being said, Robin still found it hard to blame everything on a demon.

A small moan made Robin look at the sleeping purple-haired woman laying down a few feet away. She was pillowing her head with her arms and her face looked troubled. Another moan escaped her mouth and she turned onto her back, sweat glistening off her forehead. It looked like she was having a nightmare... or reliving a terrible memory.

Roxy twitched and tears slid down from her closed eyes.

_The blonde haired woman grinned at them, and Roxy's heart plunged to her feet. She wanted to run, but she could not move. Fear had glued the bottom of her soles to the ground. A scream escaped her throat as she watched Ruby put her hand on Justin's face. She yanked it back with a terrible sucking sound, a shimmery silver substance connected to her fingers._

_Justin's blinked in surprised before his flesh disintegrated and his skeleton slumped to the ground. No. No. No! He was only sixteen!_

_"William!" Alex yelled as he drew his sword. "Take the captain to safety!"_

_Roxy's husband, William, nodded his face full of sadness as he turned away and ran towards his captain and his love. He grabbed her hand and yanked her from her spot. Roxy stumbled along._

_"No." She shook her head. "We can't leave him. We can't leave Alex!"_

_"I'm sorry." William panted. "But I have to protect you. Alex will be fine on his own, and after he defeats that monster, he'll come join us."_

_The same sucking noise from before was heard again, proving William wrong. Roxy choked on a sob and fell to her knees. William yanked her back up. "Come on, sweetheart! You have to keep moving! Just keep moving! We'll get out of this, I promise."_

_"It's useless to make promises you can't keep." Ruby's voice growled from behind them. The couple whirled around just as Ruby grabbed William's forehead._

_Roxy's eyes widened and a tortured scream erupted from her mouth. "William!" A bone white skeleton dropped. Roxy's eyes traveled down to see a golden wedding band on the skeleton's finger. "William? WILLIAM!"_

_"Does it hurt?" Ruby whispered in her ear. "I knew that the death of your husband and surviving crew members would be the thing to break you."_

_"Kill me." Roxy gasped, her sobs catching in her throat. "Please kill me."_

_Ruby caressed Roxy's cheek with her hand. "No can do. You see, the screams of broken toys are my favorite."_

Roxy sat up with a scream, her body shaking with fear. She knew that she was crying and she felt hot and wet. Another slight tremble went through her as she struggled to breath. Something touched her hand and she screamed again.

"It's okay." Roxy looked up to see Robin looking at her with concern. "You're okay now."

"What, what happened?" Roxy asked.

"You had a nightmare." Robin answered softly. "Do you remember what it was about?"

Roxy opened her mouth and paused. What was her nightmare about? She couldn't remember. "N-no. I don't know."

"Are you hungry, Roxy-chan?" Sanji asked. He had rushed to her side as soon as she heard her scream. "I could make you something. Something to drink, maybe?"

"Chocolate." Roxy answered immediately. "I want a chocolate smoothy and a chicken salad sandwich."

Usopp, Chopper, and Franky all raised their eyebrows at Roxy's odd choices for food. Luffy cocked his head. She didn't want meat? But meat always made him feel better. Robin and Nami exchanged looks. Prehaps it was Roxy's time of the month.

Sanji stood up to head to the boat. Franky got up as well. "I'm coming with you." He said briskly and walked off before the cook could protest.

"What was that about?" Sanji asked the blue-haired cyborg after they had put distance between them and the crew.

"I wanted to ask you," Franky said without looking at the cook. "why you were distracted by the sea."

Sanji shrugged. "Oh that. I'm sure I'm just imagining it, but doesn't it look like the storm has moved closer to the island?"

Back with the rest of the crew, Robin and Roxy had joined Nami and the boys by the map. Robin was studying it with a calculating eye, trying to determine the whereabouts of the missing crew member. It was silent as the others did the same.

"I've got nothing." Chopper flopped on his belly and groaned.

"Zoro should manage to eventually find his way back here, right?" Usopp said hopefully. "I mean, if he keeps wandering around trying to find us."

"Maybe." Luffy said.

"Possibly." Nami agreed.

"I estimate it to be a 25% chance that it will happen." Robin offered. The rest groaned at that low percentage.

"From the alcohol we found, we know that Zoro found the boat earlier." Chopper took up Usopp's hopefulness. "Maybe he'll find his way back!"

"But everybody gets lucky every once and awhile." Roxy muttered darkly and the mood plummeted again.

_Maybe it's time for a subject change. _Nami thought. "So, where do you think Ruby and the others might be hiding, Roxy?" Nami directed her question to the purple-haired woman.

"Oh, right." Roxy blinked and touched Nami's arm. "Here."

Nami gasped as information flooded into her brain. Ruby's hideout was at the edge of the forest, near the cliffs. "What, what did you do?" She demanded with shock.

Roxy gave her a weird look. "My devil fruit ability, duh."

Silence. Three... Two... One...

"Your WHAT?"

Roxy's eyes widened. "Oh. I never told you?"

* * *

Zoro quickened his feet with the new-found urgency Justin's visit had brought. But... this was seriously getting annoying. He was suppose to be at the cabin, darn it, not back at the cliffs!

"I wish I had Luffy's luck." He cursed out loud. Nobody that he knew of was more lucky that Luffy. He could really use some of his captain's luck right now. Too bad Luffy hated sharing.

Zoro turned around again and glared at the plains in front of him. This way, or that way? Maybe even that way? The right was looking pretty good, but so was going straight. Left was always an option too. Argh! This was too confusing!

"I'll go that way." Zoro nodded and set off. A few minutes later a strangled cry could be heard.

"I _hate _these cliffs!"

* * *

**To Pum Pumpkin Witch: Thanks. I also like it when an author never drops their stories. It's frustrating to read a really good story that suddenly ends, and then you find that it was last updated two years ago. Happened to me just yesterday.**

**To Deadly In Pink: I find that all authors tend to have a dark mind, or at least, all the authors that I'm friends with. I'll try to do better with keeping the characters in character. But then again, this is fanfiction, and you can do whatever you want to the characters. Within reason, of course.**

**To 1327: Of course Zoro will get his sword back! I'm not that mean! ...Usually.**

**To Emeralddrop: I have no plans on dying, and I think that death by cat would be a rather sad death. Right now I'm imagining all the rude things my friends would put on my tombstone. *Shudders* I've actually never read or thought about reading a Character x Reader story before. I'll do some research and report back to you. There's a chance that I wont, however, but I'll think about it.**

**To Kasai Shingai: This chapter should have revealed many chapters, I hope at least. And don't die on me, I would miss your reviews too much. It should be easy to guess now what Ruby meant when she said that she put part of her soul in them.**

**To HeroR: Actually, I have this story set in between the Water 7 arc and the Thriller Bark arc, so Brook's not in this story. And that would also explain why Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy couldn't sense stuff with their haki. It hasn't developed yet in the timeline this is placed at. When I started writing this story, I had just started the Thriller Bark arc and didn't feel comfortable with writing Brook, so that's why it's placed where it is. And I have a dog. Two of them. Along with my cat and two dogs, I also own three birds, two salamanders, two guinea pigs, a ferret, and a sugar glider. When my mom says that we live in a zoo, she means it literally.**


	9. Memories of Roxy

**Sorry, I was supposed to update yesterday, wasn't I? I have a very poor excuse for my lateness. I got on my computer to start writing and... I had nothing. Complete and total writers block. My brain felt dead.**

**Many thanks to my wonderful reader Kasai Shingai for motivating me to try again with your review! Your reviews make me smile and I anxiously await them each time I update with a new chapter! I dedicate this chapter to you.**

**Disclaimer: My wallet tells me that I don't own One Piece. It sucks being a broke teenager**

* * *

"Why didn't you ever tell us that you had a devil fruit power?" Usopp asked, waving his hands around as if to demonstrate his point.

Roxy shrugged. "You never asked, and it never seemed important."

Usopp stomped his foot. "Of course it's important! You know about all the devil fruit users in our crew, it's only fair that we know about all the users in your crew."

Pain briefly flashed in Roxy's eyes. "I'm the only surviving devil fruit user of my crew. The other two died in the storm. They drowned." Her voice broke. "I-I tried to save them, but William stopped me. He told me that a cap-" She stopped and blinked.

"He told you what?" Chopper prompted her.

The purple-haired pirate shrugged, with a slight confused look on her face. "I don't know. I felt like I knew, but when I started speaking, I forgot."

"Tell us more about your devil fruit power." Nami said. Changing the subject seemed like the best course of action. Roxy looked like she was going to explode trying to remember what William told her.

Roxy blinked one more time before directing her gaze at Nami. "I ate the Transfer Transfer fruit. I can transfer any emotion, thought, or feeling of mine into someone else."

"So that's why Nami knew where Ruby's base was once you touched her arm." Usopp nodded slowly.

Roxy shrugged with a hint of bitterness. "Over all, it's a pretty useless power. I gave up my ability to swim just so I could show my husband just how much I loved him with one touch."

"You have a husband?" Luffy cocked his head as the rest of the Strawhat pirates stared at Roxy with disbelief.

"What?" Roxy looked at Luffy liked he was crazy. "I don't have a husband!"

"But you just said..."

Just then, Sanji stepped off the boat with hearts in his eyes and a skip in his step. "Nami-san~! Robin-chwan~! Roxy-chan~! I have brought you dinner!" The blond cook held out a tray full of delicious looking food.

"Hey, what about us?" Usopp complained loudly, the topic of Roxy's devil fruit forgotten with the announcement of food.

Sanji scowled. "I don't serve men. Your food is back on the ship, morons. If you want it, you're going to have to go get it. Franky's already eating."

Luffy's mouth dropped open. "Franky's eating all my meat?" His fists balled together and he jumped up. "That's my meat!"

"Oi, Luffy! Save some for the rest of us!" Chopper yelled as the race for food began. Nami smiled softly, already knowing the outcome of the race. Being a rubber man did have its advantages after all.

Roxy smiled as well, taking her chicken salad sandwich and chocolate smoothie from Sanji. Despite the fact that one of their nakama was missing, and there was a psychopath loose on the island, meals with the Strawhats were still rambunctious and entertaining as ever. Not even the depressing, ever constant, drizzle could change that. She shivered slightly, the moisture suddenly becoming chill on her neck.

"Is something the matter?" Robin's gentle voice asked. Roxy turned to the black-haired woman. She liked her the most out of the Strawhat pirates. Robin's soft-spoken and kind nature comforted her.

Roxy shook her head. "I don't think so, at least."

Robin frowned slightly. "Then is something bothering you?"

Roxy sighed and laid on her back, putting aside her food. "I can't help but feel like I keep forgetting things. At one moment, I feel like I remember it all, only to forget it again. And when I wake up in the mornings, I feel sad and angry. Do you think I'm going crazy?"

Robin fingered the book by her side and shook her head. "No. There is definitely something wrong with this island."

"Why won't it ever stop raining?" Roxy grumbled as she held her hand up above her eyes. The mist collected on her hand and ran down her arm. "Constantly being wet is not something I like."

"It does wrinkle your skin, doesn't it?" Robin mussed. "Roxy-chan?" Silence met her question. Robin glanced over at the young woman only to find that she had fallen back asleep. With a small smile, Robin opened the book again and started to read.

That night, Roxy Elton remembered it all.

* * *

**Location: Alabasta**

"Can you believe that they were the ones who defeated Crocodile?" A guard whispered to William. William smirked as he watched the Strawhat pirates eat dinner with the king and princess. Their captain, Moneky D. Luffy, snatched a leg of chicken off King Cobra's plate, drawing a gasp from some of the more principled guards.

"They're pirates." William whispered back. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Pell glared at the two guards and William straightened up, his grip on his spear tightening. A couple of hours later, the dinner ended and the pirates retired to the bath house. William shook his head and walked outside. Who knew that Luffy-san could eat so much? The cooks had gone crazy trying to make enough food for him.

"Had a rough day?" A sweet voice said from behind him, putting a large grin on William's face.

"I guess you can say that." William turned to face his wife, Roxy Elton Thorn, the most wonderful woman alive. (In his opinion at least. But who can blame him? He was married to her after all.) "Watching the saviors of our country eat was sure entertaining, but my feet hurt."

Roxy hugged him sympathetically before walking to the railing. She crossed her arms and leaned against it, looking down at the people wandering the castle grounds. You could still see the destruction caused by the war and Luffy-san fight with Crocodile, but construction had already started to fix what had been damaged.

Roxy sighed as the dying rays of the sun bathed her face with warm light. She slightly smiled with her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin.

"Roxy?" William said from behind her. Roxy's smile broadened as she turned around.

"I've decided." She told her husband. "Let's become pirates!"

**One Week Later**

"Sweetheart, I don't think this ship will be big enough for our crew." William said with a frown as he eyed the small craft. Roxy chuckled and winked at him.

"So? So far our crew consists of me and you. This is more than enough room for two people."

"Three people." A gruff voice said from behind the couple.

"Alex!" Roxy whipped around with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The large man threw his sack of belongings into the boat. "Did you think that you could run off and become pirates without me noticing? Your ma asked me to watch over the two of you before she passed away, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Roxy looked doubtful, but William sighed with relief. "We really could use another warrior."

"William." Roxy said disapprovingly.

William gave his wife 'the look'. "This works out perfectly, Roxy. You're the captain, and he's the first mate."

Roxy frowned. "I though that you were going to be the first mate."

"I'm more suited to navigating." William shook his head. "Besides, a first mate has to be someone who is loyal to the captain, yet can make calm and level-headed decisions for the crew. You're my wife, Roxy. When we face battle, my soul concern will be about you, and not the crew. I'm biased, something that is not good when it comes to decision-making."

Roxy took his words in with silence. Finally, she turned back to Alex with an extended hand. "Welcome aboard the Violet Skull pirates."

"My life is in your hands, Captain." Alex grasped Roxy's hand and firmly shook it.

**Three Months Later**

"Look, William! Look!" Roxy bounded over to her husband, a grin so wide it cracked the edges of her lips plastered on her face. "I have a bounty! Sixty-five million belli! That's _huge_ for a first bounty!"

"Congrats." William said with fake enthusiasm. He did not like the fact that his wife had a bounty now. It meant that more people would be after her life, and that was one thing that he _could not_ stand.

"Alex has one too." Roxy blabbed away, completely oblivious to William's true thoughts.

"Captain!" A member from their crew of thirty pirates ran up to Roxy. "We have a stowaway!"

Roxy snapped out of her bragging and shoved her poster into William's arms. "Show me." She ordered in a demanding voice that William had no idea she owned until recently when their crew grew larger. Two more members of the Violet Skull pirates came onto deck, dragging someone with them.

_It's just a boy._ Roxy realized with a start. The boy couldn't have been more than sixteen years old. He was wearing rags for clothing and was covered head to toe by a coat of dirt.

"What's your name?" Roxy knelt in front of him.

The boy looked at her for a moment before answering. "Justin."

"Hello, Justin. My name is Roxy Thorn. I'm the captain of this pirate ship." Roxy said in a quiet voice. "You do realize that you snuck onto a pirate ship, right?"

"Had nowhere else to go." Justin grunted. "Family died in a fire. I just wanted to get away from that place."

"The sea is no life for a boy." Roxy shook her head.

Justin's head snapped up and he heated glared at Roxy. "I'm sixteen-years-old! I'm not a boy!"

Roxy blinked, surprised by the boy's sudden venom. A small smirk tugged its way onto her lips. "Well then, Justin, do you have anything you can offer to my crew?"

"I can cook." Justin said firmly.

Roxy stood up, holding out her hand to Justin. He took it and she pulled him up alongside her. "Here that, everyone?" Roxy called out. "We've found ourselves a chef!"

**Two Weeks Ago **

Her husband's arms slid around her waist and Roxy smirked. "I thought you were mad at me." She told William.

"I was... for a bit." He kissed the back of her head. "But it's hard to stay mad at the woman you love."

"Do you accept my apology then?" Roxy asked. The boat underneath her feet shifted a little as the waves pushed it around. Around her, people bustled around, each doing their jobs. Some of them briefly glanced at the two before looking away, while some others had a little laugh at the intimate moment the couple was sharing.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing." Her husband said with a sigh. "But you are going to insist that it was your fault anyway, right? Fine, I will grudgingly accept your apology."

"I shouldn't have rushed into that fight without thinking first." Roxy mumbled. "It was my fault."

"Remember what I told you when we started our journey?" William asked. "When your safety is concerned, I will always be biased. You're the most important person in the world to me."

Roxy opened her mouth to reply, but her stomach suddenly lurched. She pushed William away from her and dashed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She had barely enough time to lock the door before the bile in the back of her throat pushed its way out.

"Roxy! Sweetheart! Is something wrong?" William pounded on the door. Roxy retched for the third time and began to dry heave.

"Can, can you go get the doctor?" Roxy moaned, placing a hand on her stomach. Could she be...?

Thirty minutes later, Roxy was sitting in front of Caroline, the doctor of her crew. Due to the captain's orders, everybody was locked out of the room. Even William. Roxy shifted under Caroline's intent stare.

"How did it turn out?" Roxy broke the silence.

Caroline sighed and took off her glasses. "It came back positive. You're pregnant, Captain."

Stunned, Roxy leaned back against the couch. Pressing her hands against her forehead, she felt tears come to her eyes. "I'm going to have to give up pirating, aren't I?"

Caroline placed her hand on Roxy's knee. "A pirate ship is no place to safely raise a child. You're only a month along, and your bump won't show for a while now."

Roxy wiped the tears away. "Don't tell William, okay? I don't want him to know just yet."

"But he's the father!" Caroline protested. "He has a right to know!"

"Not yet." Roxy said firmly. "I will tell him, once I'm ready to stop being a pirate."

Caroline could only go along with what Roxy said. They were the Captain's orders. The two of them left Roxy's and William's room, and were met with the worried stares of the crew.

"False alarm!" Roxy said cheerfully! "I was only a bit dehydrated, that's all."

"Are you sure?" William was the first one to speak, his voice full of doubt.

"Yep!" Roxy nodded over enthusiastically. A newspaper fell onto the ship, distracting the crew from any further comments they might make. Alex picked up the paper as someone else payed the bird.

"Hey, look at this!" He pulled out a bounty poster. "Luffy-san's bounty has gone up! His head is now worth 300 million belli!"

Caroline took the paper out of Alex's hands. "It seems like the Strawhat pirates invaded Enies Lobby to rescue a criminal by the name of Nico Robin."

William took Roxy by the hand. "The man who inspired us to finally take up our dreams is making a name for himself, isn't he?"

"Luffy-san really is something, isn't he?" Roxy agreed as she grabbed Luffy's bounty poster. Carefully, she folded it up and stuck it in the pocket of her pants.

"Captain Roxy!" Justin called out in distress. "What is that?"

Roxy looked up just in time to see their ship enter a wall of raging storms.

William, Roxy, Justin, and Alex dropped off their ship and onto the rough ground of the island. Immediately, Roxy fell to her knees.

"They're all dead!" She sobbed. "Caroline... Xavier... Everyone!"

"Shh." William pulled Roxy into an embrace, tears rolling down his own face. "We're alive. We made it through."

"They're dead!" Roxy wailed. "Why?"

Alex and Justin looked away from their captain and her moment of weakness. Their faces were worn and stricken with grief.

"New comers." A silky voice said. The four surviving members of the Violet Skull pirates looked up to see a blond-haired woman standing ten feet away from them. "There hasn't been any new comers in a long time."

"Who are you?" Alex demanded harshly.

The woman glanced up at the sky. "Who am I? It's been so long that I've forgotten. Ruby, that was the name of the last new comer. Call me Ruby."

"Do you know where we are, Ruby?" Alex asked, eyeing the strange woman. Ruby ignored him, her eyes suddenly shifting to Roxy.

"You're the captain." It wasn't a question. "I know who to break you."

"What?" William, Alex, and Justin asked at the same time.

"It's been so long." Ruby sighed, once again ignoring the others. "I don't feel like playing with my prey today."

The blonde haired woman grinned at them, and Roxy's heart plunged to her feet. She wanted to run, but she could not move. Fear had glued the bottom of her soles to the ground. A scream escaped her throat as she watched Ruby put her hand on Justin's face. She yanked it back with a terrible sucking sound, a shimmery silver substance connected to her fingers.

Justin's blinked in surprised before his flesh disintegrated and his skeleton slumped to the ground. No. No. No! He was only sixteen!

"William!" Alex yelled as he drew his sword. "Take the captain to safety!"

William nodded his face full of sadness as he turned away and ran towards his captain and his love. He grabbed her hand and yanked her from her spot. Roxy stumbled along.

"No." She shook her head. "We can't leave him. We can't leave Alex!"

"I'm sorry." William panted. "But I have to protect you. Alex will be fine on his own, and after he defeats that monster, he'll come join us."

The same sucking noise from before was heard again, proving William wrong. Roxy choked on a sob and fell to her knees. William yanked her back up. "Come on, sweetheart! You have to keep moving! Just keep moving! We'll get out of this, I promise."

"It's useless to make promises you can't keep." Ruby's voice growled from behind them. The couple whirled around just as Ruby grabbed William's forehead.

Roxy's eyes widened and a tortured scream erupted from her mouth. "William!" A bone white skeleton dropped. Roxy's eyes traveled down to see a golden wedding band on the skeleton's finger. "William? WILLIAM!"

"Does it hurt?" Ruby whispered in her ear. "I knew that the death of your husband and surviving crew members would be the thing to break you."

"Kill me." Roxy gasped, her sobs catching in her throat. "Please kill me."

Ruby caressed Roxy's cheek with her hand. "No can do. You see, the screams of broken toys are my favorite."

Roxy's eyes moved from the skeletons of her friends to the battered remains of her ship. They were all dead. Every single one of them. She was alone. All alone.

Alone...

"I've grown tired of our playing." Ruby sighed with disappointment. She received no answer from the beaten, bloodied woman chained to the wall of the cave. She licked her lips with a sick smile.

"Broken souls always taste the best." She whispered and put her hand on Roxy's forehead.

Roxy could dimly feel the pressure of Ruby's hand. _Finally._ Roxy breathed out her nose. _It's over. I can die now._ Happiness washed over her as she waited for the long-awaited end.

The baby kicked in her stomach.

Roxy's eyes shot open. She had forgotten. William's child was growing in her belly. She couldn't leave it alone, like she had been left alone. She wouldn't let her baby die!

Ruby drew her hand back, but there was no soul connected to her fingers. A snarl of frustration and confusion came out from the back of her throat. "What? Why won't it work?"

"You haven't broken me just yet, demon." Roxy snarled, a fire burning in her eyes. Ruby screamed and backhanded the purple-haired woman.

"What did you do?" She demanded. A torn paper slipped out of Roxy's pants, tearing Ruby's eyes off of her victim.

"Monkey D. Luffy, huh?" Ruby said. "300 million bounty." A sadistic grin lit up her features. "I wonder how his soul will taste when I've broken it?"

* * *

**To start off the review answering, I have a question. I know my story has over fifty followers, so why did I only get four reviews for last chapter? I'll admit it, I write for reviews. I love hearing feed back from my readers. It would be much appreciated if more of you review. **

**To Kasai Shingai: I'm so sorry that I didn't have this chapter up yesterday! Please forgive me! And my friend is fine. She's seeing a professional for help, and has finally gotten some order restored in her life. Thanks for your concern, she's one of my best friends and I would break if something happened to her. And you may tear apart Ruby... as soon as I'm done using her to write this story. Does it hurt is a painful question.**

**To clea everlasting: There's not much LuNa in this chapter. I know most people hate stories that revolve around OC's, but I'm working on my own creative novels, and I'm practicing writing my own characters. I hope you don't mind too much. I promise more LuNa in later chapters!**

**To Zinfer: Thank you so much for your review. Your story, For Nakama, is one of my favorites and was the story that motivated me to start writing my own fanfiction.**

**To 1327: I agree, everybody does deserve happiness in their lives.**


	10. How Can I Feel Alive?

**Before I begin, I guess I have some explaining to do about my two week absence. But I think I'll put that in the author's note in the bottom, so for those of you who want to know why, it'll be down there. Thanks to all who favorited/followed or reviewed in my absence. Next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for or dreaded. The three words that destroyed him. **

* * *

"Patience wearing thin, demon?"

Ruby's eyes slid over to glare at William before returning to glaring at the trees in front of her. She did not feel the need to grace his question with an answer. Stupid, stupid, stupid Straw Hat pirates! In all of her hundreds of years of watching the island, this was the first time her plans had ever fallen apart at the seams. What was it that made them so different, so aggravating?

"It's getting late." The stupid husband of that stupid purple haired brat said. "Didn't you say you would wrap this all up by tonight?"

Ruby didn't even look at him. Who did that stupid woman think she was? She was playing along with Ruby's game so well, until it was finally time to suck out her soul. But that was okay, Ruby tried to convince herself, she was a perfect pawn in the game for Luffy's soul. With the bit of Ruby's own soul she had stuck in her, she could become a mindless minion Ruby could manipulate to her own whims. But then again, Ruby didn't know if she had enough power to control all six Straw Hat pirates along with Roxy. And she needed the Straw Hats in order for her game to work.

They are stupid. Being a demon is stupid. The island is stupid. The entire world was stupid. And sometimes Ruby wished that she could just disappear.

"It's all falling apart, isn't it?" William asked, his voice monotone.

Nails digging into the palms of her hands, Ruby stood up. Turning to William, her normally blue eyes flashed red. "Return to the land of the dead." She spat, her claw-like fingers digging into his head.

Ruby withdrew her own soul and William's solid body turned shimmery. He smiled slightly and glance at Alex and Justin. "Take care of her, kay?" He asked before he vanished completely.

Alex sighed and closed his eyes. Finally, at least one of them could go rest in peace.

"The two of you can go now." Ruby waved her hand dismissively. "I'm going to go take matters into my own hands."

The two remaining members of the Violet Skull pirates shuddered. (No, they weren't a part of the Ruby Skull pirates. That was just something the demon came up with so that her little made up story sounded more convincing.) They feared for the Straw Hats. Ruby's powers were dangerous and hard to counter.

"It's time to find a certain green-haired swordsman." The demon muttered darkly as she watched Alex and Justin fade away. If her plan wouldn't run smoothly, then she would just have to make it work. All she had to do was touch him on the forehead once more and he would become hers.  
Ruby flexed her fingers before walking into the forest. Her powers couldn't tell her what Zoro's location was, but it could give her an impression of what his thoughts were. She couldn't read his mind, but she could tell when he was angry, and right now the swordsman was extremely frustrated. Most likely he was walking in a circle and kept ending up back in the same place. Where could he be?

Neither she or the Straw Hats could find an answer to that particular question.

Part of Ruby's stretched out soul relaxed. It was the piece off soul she had stuck in Roxy weeks ago. The violet haired woman must have fallen asleep.

Ruby paused in her wandering with a thoughtful expression. She would need most of her power to control all the Straw Hats... With a sigh, she removed the block on Roxy's memories. The sudden return of her past would keep her knocked out for a while. Hopefully Ruby would be able to break Luffy during that time. It would be a pain if Roxy was to somehow warn them beforehand. The demon's powers weakened significantly if you were aware what they could do.

That's why the three spirits of the Violet Skull pirates were able to resist her when she wasn't actively concentrating on bending them to do her will. Or how Roxy was such a jerk in the beginning. Even though Ruby was suppressing her memories, Roxy's conscious was rebelling against her. That's why when Ruby found out that Roxy was resisting her she made the purple haired woman seek the affections of Luffy. The demon knew how much she loved her husband and hoped that it would aid in breaking her spirit.

Ruby gritted her teeth and started walking again, each step a stomp of anger. Roxy annoyed her to no end. As soon as she was finished with the Straw Hat captain, she would end that cursed woman's life with her own hands.

Now, all she had to do was find that swordsman. Taking a wild guess, Ruby decided that the cliffs were always a good place to start.

* * *

Zoro sighed as his feet dangled off the edge of the cliff. No matter how much he wandered or how much he tried to get away, he always ended up back at the cliffs. He wondered if it was Kuina's sword calling him back, begging him to find it.

He fought off a wave of depression and stood up. He couldn't change the past, but he could do his best to change the future. That boy, Justin, had gave him a warning concerning his nakama, and Zoro would rather rot in Hell than have something bad happen to his friends.

"Better get going." Zoro said out loud to himself. He needed to find his way to either the cabin or the beach, those were the only two places he thought his nakama might be. A glint lit in Zoro's eyes as an idea came to him. The beach was on the outskirts of the island... And the cliffs were on the outskirts of the island... If he kept to the outside next to the sea, he would have to stumble upon the beach sooner or latter.

"Found you~." A melodic voice said from behind him. Zoro stiffened and twirled around, his arms automatically unsheathing his swords.

"Ruby." He snarled and slid down into a fighting stance.

The blond woman smiled and gave him a little wave. "You've been a naughty boy, Zoro. You were suppose to stay with your crew. I need to break Luffy's spirit you know."

"As if I'm going to let that happen." Zoro lunged at Ruby. The demon jumped back in surprise, just missing a fatal blow by inches. A blade slit through the skin in her arm, leaving a long deep gash on her forearm.

"Hey now," Ruby's eyes flashed dangerously. "Who said that you could attack me? Just stand still and let me-"

She was cut off as Zoro brought both of his swords up and diagonally slashed at her chest. "No thanks." The swordsman smirked at her.

"Don't you have rules against attacking an unarmed woman?" Ruby complained as she fingered the new holes in her shirt. She had leaned back in time for the sword to only cut through her clothing.

"First off, I doubt you're unarmed." Zoro slid back into his stance. "And second, you're a monster, not a woman. Even Nami's better than you."

There was a clang as Zoro's next attack was blocked by a silver dagger. Ruby grinned at the swordsman's shocked expression and pushed his swords away, at the same time lunging in to stab Zoro in the shoulder.

Zoro grunted in pain as blade ripped into his shoulder, just beneath the collarbone. Blood began to seep into his shirt as Ruby danced away. The blond woman raised the blade to her mouth and licked the edge.

"Your blood's so sweet." She giggled. "If yours tastes this good, Luffy's must be a delicacy!"

"You're insane." Zoro spat, watching with a sick feeling in his stomach as Ruby licked his blood. He had seen many things in his life, but this was by far the creepiest.

Ruby's eyes flashed with anger. "Many people have told me that." She sighed. "I've been here so long that I no longer can remember what it feels like to be normal. I can't even feel the pain in my arm. Have you forgotten what it feels like to know pain?"

Zoro answered her question with a glare.

Ruby ruefully shook her head. "I suppose not. You have not lived nearly as long as I have, and you're human. Did you know you're lucky to be a human? Did you know you're lucky to be able to feel pain?"

The demon raised her head to the sky, the mist softly coating her face. "You know you're still alive if you can feel pain. I can't feel pain, so how do I know if I'm still alive? Sometimes I wonder when I'm all alone on this dreary island. That's why when some unlucky crew gets sucked in by the storms, I want to hear them scream. I can inflict pain on them and hear them scream, and that lets me know that I'm still alive."

Zoro didn't say anything. His eyes were narrowed and his form was rigid. All he could feel was pity and anger for that sorry being. Pity, because he could only imagine what it would feel like to question your own existence. Anger, because the way she made herself feel alive was so wrong.

Ruby grinned at him, her eyes glazed with madness and bloodlust. "Just you wait. I'm going to break your captain's spirit by using his crew, then I'm going to make him scream before sucking out his soul and adding his skeleton to my collection."

"Over my dead body." Zoro growled before Ruby launched herself at him.

"You don't have a choice." Ruby whispered as she used her free hand to touch Zoro on the forehead. That was the last thing the swordsman remembered before unbearable agony cascaded into his head.

* * *

**To start off, I will answer one of Kasai Shingai's reviews. I was on vacation... sort of. Not last Tuesday, but the Tuesday before it my house was flooded. It was so bad that my family had to go stay in a hotel. That's the vacation part of my 'why my chapter is late' story.**

**There's a mall a block away from the hotel I'm staying at, and my friends thought it would be fun to go back to school shopping there. We walked back from the mall to the hotel because there's really no point in driving. But we had to cross a really busy intersection smack dab in the middle of the city where I live. Being the good little girls we are (I just had to write that. Probably because it's so untrue.) we waited for the right time to cross. And then somebody ran a red light.**

**Yup, you guessed it right. I got hit by a car.**

**So a hospital trip, three broken ribs, a broken femur, and a nasty concussion latter, you could say that I forgot that I even had a story. But I finally remembered! Sorry that the chapter is so short, I'm kinda in pain right now and really want to go take an aspirin. Next chapter will come on time and be longer, I promise!**

**Review time~.**

**To Kasai Shingai: Aw, thanks for the compliment. Go ahead and call Ruby demon. As for killing her in the end, well you'll just have to see ;) I promise that I'll update next Wedensday, and if I break my promise, I give you permission to send me a very angry flame.**

**To Deadly In Pink: Congratulations, you're my 50th reviewer! I know most people don't care about suck things, but this is my first story that has done this well, so it was a special occasion for me. And you're right about Roxy being pissed off.**

**To Doubledamn: Thanks for going back and reviewing each one of my chapter! And I really like that quote on the end.**

**To OPLOVER4EVER: Thanks for your review. Sometimes I too get a little impatient when one of my favorite stories is taking too long to update.**


	11. Bloody Red Stone Heart

**I am so sorry, I lied. And this is a really short chapter. I did not have anytime to write with doctors appointments, school starting again, and just life in general. Oh, and yesterday was my 16th birthday, which I had to spend in a wheelchair. Speaking of which, someone PLEASE get this cast off my leg. Do you know how terrible it is to have a full leg cast in 100 degree weather?**

**But I promised that I would update today, so I had to update no matter what. I will try to make the next chapter long and juicy, the key word in there being try. I don't know what will happen though, nobody can predict the future. Unless you're an anime character.**

**Disclaimer: Hm, let me check my wallet. Nope, still don't own it.**

* * *

It was getting dark and Zoro still had not made his way back to the crew. Luffy watched his nakama ready themselves to sleep from a distance. They had decided that they would spend the night on the beach, so that Zoro would see them if he somehow made his way back. Usopp and Chopper had volunteered *forced cough cough* to take first watch and were busy complaining to an irritated Nami.

Nami...

Luffy may have thought that he was watching his entire crew, but in reality his eyes never strayed far from a certain orange haired navigator. They way she talked, the way she laughed, the way she would stare at the sky when she was lost in thought, Luffy had memorized it all. He did not know why his heart would jump when she looked at him, or how recently his tongue would tie itself into knots when she spoke to him.

When she was happy, he was happy. When she was mad, he was mad. When she was sad, he was out looking for the person who made her cry. The way she made him feel, he didn't know what to call it. She made him feel... the way she made him feel...

It was a mystery feeling. It was a good thing that he loved mysteries almost as much as he loved adventure. And Luffy really, really liked this mystery feeling.

Nami caught him staring at her. Luffy flinched, waiting for her to start screaming about him being a pervert, but she smiled instead. Oh that smile. It was on Luffy's list of favorite things. Right under meat, of course.

"Hey," Nami walked up to him and sat down on his sleeping bag. She was so close to him that Luffy could almost feel her body heat. He wished that she would scoot a bit closer so that her soft arm would touch his. Dear Meat Gods above, was he turning into Sanji? Shaking off those mystery thoughts, he grinned at Nami.

"What's up?" He asked her.

"I'm just worried about you." She replied quietly.

Luffy's calm face morphed into one of shock. "You're worrying about something other than treasure? Are you sick? Come to think of it, you're face is kinda red. CHOPPER! COME QUICK! NAMI'S SI-"

Nami's punches were just like his Grandpa's. They completely ignored the fact that he was made out of rubber and caused him to feel pain.

Chopper rushed over, looking terrified. "What's wrong?"

Nami pointed to her captain who was laying on his back, moaning as he clutched his head. "Luffy hit his head and was wondering if you could help him."

The reindeer sighed in relief. "Oh that's good. Tell him to endure the pain and that he can come get a bandaid from me if he really needs it. I got worried there for a second, I thought Luffy was saying that you were sick again."

Nami smiled brightly, only those who knew her well could tell that the smile was concealing something darker. "Do you hear that, Luffy? Chopper's telling you to suck it up and quit acting like a baby."

"But Nami..." Luffy whined as Chopper slowly backed away. Nami was scary.

Chopper walked back over to Usopp with a thoughtful look. "Come to think of it. Luffy's made out of rubber. It wouldn't hurt if he hit his head on something."

Usopp just shook his head. "Don't question Nami, otherwise you'll find out why Luffy's head hurts."

Luffy stiffened as Nami all of a sudden leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. He opened his mouth but she cut him off with a growl.

"Don't say anything. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing either."

Luffy didn't say anything like he had been ordered, but he nodded. He didn't mind what Nami was doing, just confused as to why she was doing it. Overall, he was just glad that Sanji was still on the Sunny cleaning up his kitchen.

Usopp, Chopper, and Franky were too caught up in their conversation to notice what the two were doing, but Robin was quietly chuckling to herself.

It was only a matter of time. She thought. She was curious to see who would make the first move, but wasn't that surprised when it was Nami. Her captain's brain was a little, um, slow, to put it politely, and it needed some help to figure out just what he felt towards his navigator. Robin wasn't one to play matchmaker, but she found herself enjoying observing as nature took its course.

"I promise that we will find Zoro," Luffy said after a minute of awkward silence. "and then I will get us off this island."

"And I don't doubt that." Nami replied. "Just promise me one thing?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"That you'll be careful."

The mystery feeling hit Luffy with full force, flooding his body with joy and made him want to lean his head against Nami's. What was this mystery feeling, and why did it make him feel that way? There wasn't anything wrong with him, was there? No, he didn't think so. It wasn't a bad feeling. How did he feel about Nami?

Well, she was one of his nakama, so of course he cared about her. But she felt different than the rest of his crew, she felt... specialer? Was that the right way to describe it? The answer came to him with a sudden shock. If he could live on an island made entirely out of meat, or see Nami smiling and happy, he would choose Nami hands down. He loved meat, and if Nami was higher on his priority list than meat, did that mean...

He loved Nami?

* * *

The sun had finally set, but the stars were hidden behind the constant blanket of clouds. All the Straw Hats were asleep. All of them, except for Usopp and Chopper. The two were sitting with their backs to the sea, staring straight ahead as they did their best not to fall asleep. A small rustle sounded behind them, making Usopp glance back nervously.

"It was just Roxy turning over in her sleep." Usopp sighed as he turned to look forward again. "She hasn't woken up since she fell asleep, has she?"

The doctor shook his head. "I went over to make sure she has a fever a while ago, but there's nothing wrong. Perhaps she's just tired."

Usopp shrugged. "But she took a nap this afternoon too."

Chopper was silent for a moment. "That's true. Don't you feel like Roxy's been acting strange lately? She will say one thing, and then completely deny it a second later."

"I don't feel like we can completely trust her yet." Usopp said darkly. "She used to not be able to take her hands off Luffy, but now she treats him like the rest of us."

"She's nicer too." Chopper pondered this for a moment. The two fell silent again, both hoping that the next hour will pass by swiftly so that they can wake up the next shift and get some sleep. Twenty minutes passed by and Chopper stood up.

Stretching his arms, he muttered, "Bathroom." to Usopp before disappearing. Usopp nodded and shifted his eyes to scan the area. Honestly, what was Nami thinking? Having two of the more cowardly members of their crew take the first watch. Why couldn't he be paired up with Sanji or Luffy or Zo- A twig snapped and Usopp jumped, his gaze flashing towards the sound.

"Zoro!" Usopp hissed, scrambling onto his feet. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere? Okay, not really, seeing as we didn't want to split up and risk getting attacked."

"Sh!" Zoro held up his finger to his lips. "Not so loud!"

Usopp raised an eyebrow. That was very un-Zoro like. Maybe he wasn't feeling very well...

"I don't want to wake the others up." Zoro explained. Usopp nodded, relieved. That made sense, even though it was still unlike Zoro.

"I'm sure the others won't mind." Usopp began walking towards Zoro. "I mean, we've been waiting for you to wander back all day." He stopped in front of the swordsman and gave him a questioning stare. "How did you find your way back anyway?"

"He didn't find his way back," A feminine voice said from behind Zoro, making Usopp's blood freeze. "I found it for him."

The warning shout never came. Before Usopp could open his mouth, a petite hand grabbed his forehead. The sniper's eyes rolled back into his head as he slipped away into a darkness filled with agony.

Even Robin, the lightest sleeper of the crew, only turned over, completely unaware of what was happening in the world of the awake.

* * *

"Usopp?" Chopper called out softly. He was only gone for a minute, not nearly long enough for his crewmate to disappear. Yet, here he was, looking for said crewmate.

"I'm over here, Chopper." Chopper jumped slightly at the sound of his friend's voice. Turning around, he spotted Usopp.

"Where did you go? I was worried." Chopper sighed, then his eyes widened. "Look out Usopp, behind you! Ruby's be-"

* * *

At the sound of the doctor's yelling, Robin sat up. Looking around, she saw Usopp and Chopper manning their posts, and unconsciously put a hand up to her heart. The two on watch briefly glanced back at her and nodded, reassuring Robin that everything was alright. Taking a deep breath in to calm the rapid beating of her chest, Robin tried convincing herself of the same thing.

Did I imagine that? Robin wondered. It must have been a strange dream.

Someone shifted to her right, making Robin turn her head. She found herself staring at a set of brown eyes that did not belong to anyone in her crew.

"Hello." The blond haired demon whispered.

* * *

Ruby smiled in satisfaction as she removed her hand from the blue haired man. Her mission was complete, all of the Straw Hats belonged to her. The archaeologist had caused some trouble, but Ruby was able to subdue her. The cook had also woken up and managed to shout the name of his captain before Ruby was able to activate the piece of soul she had left in him. The captain of the crew came alive at the cook's shout, but Ruby had hidden herself by then and Luffy soon fell back asleep. The purple haired brat didn't stir even once.

Now, all she had to do was wait until morning. Then Luffy would be hers.

Walking away from the beach, Ruby found a patch of grass hidden from view and settled down. Closing her eyes, she focused on the seven minds she was controlling. It was harder and took up most of her power. She found herself becoming more and more fatigued with every passing second.

Ruby wished that she could feel pain, maybe then digging her nails into the palms of her hands would help keep her awake. Tomorrow, once Luffy's soul was broken, she would make him feel pain and imagine that his pain was hers. With each scream her victims let out, she almost, almost remembered the days before she became a demon. The days where she was simply the caretaker of the islands surrounded by storms.

The days where she enjoyed living instead of wishing that her life would just end.

* * *

**I tried to add some romance in there, because I promised romance. But writing romance about a guy who saw the most beautiful woman in the world naked and didn't even get a nose bleed is difficult. Please let me know if you thought Luffy or Nami was OOC, and I'll go back and try to fix it.**

**To OPLOVER4EVER: You didn't come off as rude, or at least not to me. I don't know, I'm a very hard person to offend. I hope I get better soon too. Is that a bad thing to say? I'm just sick and tired of it hurting every time I laugh or breath.**

**To Pum Pumpkin Witch: Why thank you. I was trying really hard to keep Zoro in character last chapter. It's nice to know I did a good job.**

**To doubledamn: Sorry it's not the chapter I promised. I have something planned in regards to Ruby breaking Luffy's spirit ;) I so look forward to the episode where Blackbeard gets his butt kicked. I liked him at first, but now I hate his guts. But I can't decide who I dislike more, Blackbeard or Akaniu. They're both pretty terrible in my book.**

**To Guest: I have to say, getting hit by a car was not a good experience. And no, I'm not planning on killing off the crew. I have a thing against death fics, I don't like any of my favorite characters dying. Which is kind of funny, because in the novel I'm writing, it seems like I kill off all my characters. My friends hate me for it. **

**To Kasai Shingai: Actually, the guy who hit me was driving while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. I have to go to court and testify against him soon, which will be a _fun_ experience. *Rolls eyes* Don't drink and drive people! There are lots of people out there who would prefer not to be injured or killed because you were careless! Sorry about my rant, I just have a major grudge against alcohol right now.**

**To Frostheart D. Blaize: I love the D in your name ;) Thanks for your review, and don't worry, he will. **


	12. Author's Note

**Sorry, folks! I absolutely despise putting authors notes up instead of chapters, but I thought that I would let you all know that I won't be updating this week. Life got hectic with my school starting tomorrow and stuff like that. I will be sure to update next week.**

**Please don't hate me *ducks and runs from all the rotten tomatoes***

**This author's note will be removed when next chapter is updated.**


End file.
